In the fifth year of king Rehoboam, Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem, because they had trespassed against Yahweh,
Parallel Translations
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In the fifth year of king Rehoboam, Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem, because they had trespassed against Yahweh,
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And it came to pass, that in the fifth year of king Rehoboam Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem, because they had transgressed against the LORD,
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And it came to pass in the fifth year of king Rehoboam, that Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem, because they had dealt treacherously with the LORD,
Cross-references (12)
Passages linked to 2 Chronicles 12:2 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- 1 Kings 11:40 Therefore Solomon sought to kill Jeroboam; but Jeroboam arose, and fled into Egypt, to Shishak king of Egypt, and was in Egypt until the death of Solomon.
- 2 Chronicles 7:19-20 But if you turn away, and forsake my statutes and my commandments which I have set before you, and shall go and serve other gods, and worship them; then I will pluck them up by the roots out of my land which I have given them; and this house, which I have made holy for my name, I will cast out of my sight, and I will make it a proverb and a byword among all peoples.
- Judges 2:13-15 They abandoned Yahweh, and served Baal and the Ashtaroth. Yahweh’s anger burned against Israel, and he delivered them into the hands of raiders who plundered them. He sold them into the hands of their enemies all around, so that they could no longer stand before their enemies. Wherever they went out, Yahweh’s hand was against them for evil, as Yahweh had spoken, and as Yahweh had sworn to them; and they were very distressed.
- 1 Kings 14:24-26 There were also sodomites in the land. They did according to all the abominations of the nations which Yahweh drove out before the children of Israel. In the fifth year of king Rehoboam, Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem, and he took away the treasures of Yahweh’s house, and the treasures of the king’s house. He even took away all of it, including all the gold shields which Solomon had made.
- 1 Chronicles 28:9 You, Solomon my son, know the God of your father, and serve him with a perfect heart and with a willing mind; for Yahweh searches all hearts, and understands all the imaginations of the thoughts. If you seek him, he will be found by you; but if you forsake him, he will cast you off forever.
- 2 Chronicles 36:14-19 Moreover all the chiefs of the priests, and the people, trespassed very greatly after all the abominations of the nations; and they polluted Yahweh’s house which he had made holy in Jerusalem. Yahweh, the God of their fathers, sent to them by his messengers, rising up early and sending, because he had compassion on his people, and on his dwelling place; but they mocked the messengers of God, and despised his words, and scoffed at his prophets, until Yahweh’s wrath arose against his people, until there was no remedy. Therefore he brought on them the king of the Chaldeans, who killed their young men with the sword in the house of their sanctuary, and had no compassion on young man or virgin, old man or gray-headed. He gave them all into his hand. All the vessels of God’s house, great and small, and the treasures of Yahweh’s house, and the treasures of the king, and of his princes, all these he brought to Babylon. They burned God’s house, and broke down the wall of Jerusalem, and burned all its palaces with fire, and destroyed all of its valuable vessels.
- Psalms 106:43-44 He rescued them many times, but they were rebellious in their counsel, and were brought low in their iniquity. Nevertheless he regarded their distress, when he heard their cry.
- Isaiah 63:10 But they rebelled and grieved his Holy Spirit. Therefore he turned and became their enemy, and he himself fought against them.
- Jeremiah 2:19 “Your own wickedness will correct you, and your backsliding will rebuke you. Know therefore and see that it is an evil and bitter thing, that you have forsaken Yahweh your God, and that my fear is not in you,” says the Lord, Yahweh of Armies.
- Jeremiah 44:22-23 Thus Yahweh could no longer bear it, because of the evil of your doings, and because of the abominations which you have committed. Therefore your land has become a desolation, and an astonishment, and a curse, without inhabitant, as it is today. Because you have burned incense, and because you have sinned against Yahweh, and have not obeyed Yahweh’s voice, nor walked in his law, nor in his statutes, nor in his testimonies; therefore this evil has happened to you, as it is today.”
- Lamentations 5:15 The joy of our heart has ceased. Our dance is turned into mourning.
- Nehemiah 9:26-27 “Nevertheless they were disobedient, and rebelled against you, cast your law behind their back, killed your prophets that testified against them to turn them again to you, and they committed awful blasphemies. Therefore you delivered them into the hand of their adversaries, who distressed them. In the time of their trouble, when they cried to you, you heard from heaven; and according to your manifold mercies you gave them saviors who saved them out of the hands of their adversaries.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (13 sources)
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John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain 2Ch 12:2 And it came to pass, [that] in…
2Ch 12:2 And it came to pass, [that] in the fifth year of king Rehoboam Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem, because they had transgressed against the LORD,
Ver. 2. In the fifth year of Rehoboam.] In his fourth year they fell from God’s service to idolatry, and did evil as they could. Had they taken away the idol temple set up by Solomon - as Zisca in Bohemia, and Cromwell here, did the monasteries, they had not likely so soon and so much corrupted themselves. But herein also Manasseh was to blame; and Constantine the Great, in that he only shut up the idol temples, and destroyed them not, which Julian the apostate did soon after set open again.
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Shishak king of Egypt.] See on 1Ki 14:25.
Came up against Jerusalem,] Which when he had taken, he went on to other parts, and subdued all Asia, say Herodotus and Siculus.
Because they had transgressed against the Lord.] See 1Ki 14:22-24. Shishak probably was stirred up by Jeroboam who had lived in the court of Egypt, and married a wife there of the blood-royal, as some say - to invade Rehoboam’s country: but this he could not have done, had they not prevaricated against the Lord.
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 In the fifth year; presently after the apostacy of…
In the fifth year; presently after the apostacy of the king and people, which was in his fourth year, by comparing this with 2Ch 11:17.
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 it came to pass in the fifth year…
And it came to pass in the fifth year of Rehoboam,.... In the fourth year, the apostasy of him and his people began; and, in the year following, what is next related happened, as a punishment of it:
Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem; of whom see Kg1 11:40,
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because they transgressed against the Lord; transgressed the law of the Lord by falling into idolatry and other abominable evils; the Targum is,"against the Word of the Lord.''
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain Fifth year - Presently after the apostacy of the…
Fifth year - Presently after the apostacy of the king and people, which was in the fourth year.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 2. Shishak king of Egypt] Concerning this man,…
Verse 2. Shishak king of Egypt] Concerning this man, and the motive which led him to attack the Jews, see the note on 1Kg 14:31.
Transgressed against the Lord] "Against the WORD of the Lord." - Targum.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain 2Ch 12:2. In the fifth year Shishak came up…
2Ch 12:2. In the fifth year Shishak came up against Jerusalem — Presently after the apostacy of the king and people, which was in the fourth year. As this great calamity came upon them so soon after they began to desert the worship of God, and by a hand they had so little reason to suspect, having had a great deal of friendly correspondence with Egypt in the last reign; and as it came with so much violence, that all the fenced cities of Judah, which Rehoboam had lately fortified and garrisoned, and on which he relied much for the safety of his kingdom, fell into the hands of the enemy without making any resistance, it plainly appeared that the Lord had sent it, because they had transgressed against him. And doubtless God brought this unexpected trouble upon them so soon after their departure from him, not only to manifest his displeasure at, and to punish them for, their crime, but also and especially to recover them to repentance before their hearts were hardened.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain Shishak ... came up ... because they had transgressed…
Shishak ... came up ... because they had transgressed - The writer speaks from a divine, not a human, point of view. Shishak’s motive in coming up was to help Jeroboam, and to extend his own influence.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem--He was…
Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem--He was the first king of the twenty-second or Bubastic Dynasty. What was the immediate cause of this invasion? Whether it was in resentment for some provocation from the king of Judah, or in pursuance of ambitious views of conquest, is not said. But the invading army was a vast horde, for Shishak brought along with his native Egyptians an immense number of foreign auxiliaries.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 2. Shishak] The Egyptian king has commemorated this expedition…
2. Shishak] The Egyptian king has commemorated this expedition in a pictorial inscription on the wall of the temple of Karnak. It appears that the Northern kingdom suffered as well as the Southern, but no permanent conquest of Canaan was attempted. (Maspero, Histoire Ancienne, ed. v. pp. 360, 1.)
because they had trespassed] A touch characteristic of the Chronicler; cp. 2Ch_13:18; 2Ch_21:10; 2Ch_24:24; 2Ch_25:20; 2Ch_27:6; 2Ch_28:19; and 1Ch_10:13-14. The Chronicler sees the working of temporal rewards and of temporal punishments everywhere.
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 (2) And it came to pass.—See 1Ki_14:25, with which…
(2) And it came to pass.—See 1Ki_14:25, with which this verse literally coincides, except that the last clause, “because they had transgressed,” is added by the chronicler.
In the fifth year of king Rehoboam.—The order of events is thus given: For three years Rehoboam and his people continued faithful to the Lord (2Ch_11:17); in the fourth year they fell away; and in the fifth their apostacy was punished.
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Shishak.—The Sesonchis of Manetho, and the sh-sh-nk of the hieroglyphs, was the first king of the 22nd dynasty. “His name,” says Ebers, “and those of his successors, Osorkon (Zerah) and Takelot, are Semitic, a fact which explains the Biblical notice that Solomon took a princess of this dynasty for his consort, and stood in close commercial relations with Egypt, as well as, on the other hand, that Hadad the Edomite received the sister of Tahpenes the queen to wife (1Ki_11:19). In the year 949 B.C. Shishak, at the instigation of Jeroboam, took the field against Rehoboam, besieged Jerusalem, captured it, and carried off a rich booty to Thebes. On a southern wall of the Temple of Karnak, all Palestinian towns which the Egyptians took in this expedition are enumerated” (Riehm’s Handwort. Bibl. Alterth., p. 333).
Because they had transgressed.—For they had been faithless to Jehovah. This is the chronicler’s own parenthetic explanation of the event, and expresses in one word his whole philosophy of Israelite history. Of course it is not meant that Shishak had any consciousness of the providential ground of his invasion of Judah.
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 Shishak; Hebrew, qvyvi; Septuagint, Sousakim; Shishak, Sheshonk, Sesonchis, the…
Shishak; Hebrew, qvyvi; Septuagint, Sousakim; Shishak, Sheshonk, Sesonchis, the Sheshenk I or Shashank I of the monuments, son of an Assyrian king called Nimrod or Nemaruth, became King of Egypt as first of six kings who lasted in all a hundred and seventy years, of the twenty-second dynasty of Manetho, reigning in Bubastis. To him Jeroboam had fled for refuge from Solomon. (1Ki_11:40) He reigned An. Sac. 3830 (B.C. 980) to 3851 or 3863. This makes Solomon"s reign A.S. 3799 (B.C. 1011) to 3839 (B.C. 971). Shishak"s invasion, therefore, in aid of Jeroboam, was A.S. 3844 (B.C. 966). A representation of it exists in relief sculptured on the south external wall of the temple of Amen, at Karnak, Thebes; and, together with this, an elaborate list of countries, cities, tribes, conquered by Sheshenk or tributary to him, a hundred and thirty-three in number. Among these are some of the very fifteen fenced cities (see our ver. 4) which Rehoboam built or fortified, viz. the three, Shoco, Adoraim, and Aijalon, while the erasure of fourteen names just where these are found accounts, no doubt, for the non-appearance of others of them. There are also the names of Levitical and Canaanite cities, situated in the kingdoms of the ten tribes, but belonging to the Levites who had been compelled to migrate into Judah. The dates given above are those accepted by Conder, in his "Handbook to the Bible" (see pp. 28-34), and do not quite agree with those adopted in Smith"s "Bible Dictionary," 3:1287-1294. Both of these most interesting articles will well repay perusal, as well as the article "Thebes" in the latter work, 3:1471-1475. (The name and word Shishak has no relation whatever with the Sheshach Jer_25:26; It. 41, a word which, possibly spelling Babel or even Ur, marks the name of a place, and is evidently used by Jeremiah for Babylon or Babylonia.)
Vers. 2-12.
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Penalty, penitence, and forgiveness.
It was not many months before Rehoboam found out the heinousness of his offence, the magnitude of his mistake; for in the path of sin comes penalty, and behind penalty steals shame. Happily for him there was mercy behind that. We look at this succession
I AS EXPERIENCED BY THE KING OF JUDAH. First of all, following fast on his transgression, came:
1. Divine displeasure and humiliating defeat. There came in to his palace-gates the stern spokesman for God, the prophet of Jehovah, with the language of cutting censure on his lips, "Thus saith the Lord, Ye have forsaken me, therefore have I also left you," etc. (ver. 5); and with this anger of the Lord came disgraceful defeat on the field of battle. Those strong places he had so carefully fortified, of which he was so proud, and on which he so much relied, went down one after the other at the approach of the enemy, and left the capital at his mercy (vers. 3, 4). Then came:
2. Spiritual agitation. Shame, fear, confession. Rehoboam was ashamed of his great folly; he was afraid for the safety of Jerusalem, and even for his own liberty or life; he made a humble confession of his sin. He and his princes "humbled themselves" before God (ver. 6). And then came:
3. The Divine clemency.
(1) God took him back into his forgiving favour (ver. 7). "The wrath of the Lord turned from him" (ver. 12).
(2) He promised him deliverance in a short time, and he graciously fulfilled his word; for Shishak went back without destroying or sacking the capital, and without taking the life or liberty of the king.
(3) His mercy included discipline. God let Rehoboam be subject to the Egyptian king for a while that he might know the difference between a degrading servitude and an ennobling service (see next homily); and he suffered Jerusalem to be stripped of some of its proud treasures, that the king and his princes might learn that their strength and wealth were as nothing in comparison with the favour of God, and would be forfeited by their disobedience and disloyalty. God"s mercy was of such a kind as to justify repentance, but to discourage rebellion and wrong-doing.
II IN OUR OWN EXPERIENCE. Following our sin against the Lord, whether this be some special act of transgression, or whether it be the condition of estrangement and separation from him, is:
1. The Divine rebuke. This comes to our heart through the written or uttered Word of God, or through the pricking and piercing of our own conscience, or through the coming of God to the individual soul by his
2. Divine.providence. In some form or other God says to us, "Thou hast sinned, and done evil m my sight.
3. Spiritual agitation and return. Our heart is humbled; we are conscious that we have violated the Law and grieved the Spirit of God, and our soul is filled with a holy and a manly shame. And then our heart turns toward God; we "set our hearts to seek the Lord God," our Father and our Saviour and our Friend; we earnestly desire to be taken into his service. And then comes:
4. Divine forgiveness. God receives us fully into his favour; he takes us back to his heart and to his home, so that we are no longer aliens or enemies, but children at his hearth and table. Yet he makes us to know that our past sin has left some of its marks behind it. It has robbed us of some treasure; it has injured us, perhaps in our circumstances; certainly in our soul. We cannot break his righteous Law, we cannot oppose his holy and loving will, we cannot violate the laws of our own spiritual nature, without being something the poorer for our folly and our guilt. Nevertheless, the capital is not taken, the enemy withdraws; we have left us our liberty, and our power to serve the righteous and the loving Saviour. C.
Vers. 2-4.
Shishak"s invasion.
I THE INVADER. Shishak King of Egypt, the Sesonchis of Manetho, the Shashanq I of the monuments (s.c. 966). Originally the son of an Assyrian king named Nimrod, "who had met his death in Egypt and been buried at Abydos," Shashanq I of the twenty-second dynasty established his seat of royalty at Bubastis, in Lower Egypt (Brugsch, "Egypt under the Pharaohs," 2:215, 216; Ebers, in Riehm"s "Handworterbuch," art. "Sisak;" "Records of the Past," 12:93). His mother"s name was Tentespeh, his wife"s Tahpenes. (1Ki_11:19) One of his wife"s sisters married Hadad the Edomite; another became the wife of Jeroboam (Stanley, "Jewish Church," 2:275; Ewald, "History of Israel," 3:217; 4:32).
II THE ARMY.
1. Chariots. In ancient times a common instrument of war ( (Exodus (2Sa_15:1; 1Ki_20:1) Shishak had twelve hundred, or twice the number of Pharaoh"s chosen chariots in the time of Moses. (Exo_14:7) The Philistines once collected against Israel thirty thousand. (1Sa_13:5) Solomon had fourteen hundred, (1Ki_10:26) Rehoboam likely not so many in consequence of the disruption of the kingdom.
1. Horsemen. Sixty thousand; five times as many as had belonged to Solomon, (1Ki_4:26) and twelve times as many as the Philistines had brought against Israel. (1Sa_13:5) Forty thousand mounted warriors once fell before David"s troops. (2Sa_10:18)
2. Infantry. Without number, composed of native forces and mercenaries or foreign troops Lubims, Sukkims, and Ethiopians.
(1) The Lubims, or Libyans (2Ch_16:8; Dan_11:43) the Lehabim of Gen_10:13, the Temhu, or Tehennu, or more accurately the eastern portion of this people, the Lubu of the monuments (Ebers, "Egypt and the Books of Moses," p. 104), were the inhabitants of the districts of Marcotis and Libya west of the Canopic arm of the Nile (Knobel), or in the larger sense the Liby-AEgyptii of the ancients (Keil), the people dwelling between Lower Egypt and the Roman province of Africa (Kautzsch in Riehm, art. "Libyer").
(2) The Sukkim were aborigines of Africa, "cavemen," troglodytes (LXX, Vulgate), "probably the Ethiopian troglodytes upon the mountains on the west coast of the Arabian Gulf" (Bertheau), whom Strabo and Pliny mention, the latter speaking of a troglodyte city Suche, which has been identified with Suakim (Kautzsch).
(3) The Ethiopians, or Cushites, introduced among the forces of Shishak (cf. Nah_3:9) were drawn from the African territory south of Egypt.
III THE REASON.
1. Shishaks. Perhaps to assist Jeroboam in his measures of hostility against Rehoboam, and eventually to secure the supremacy of Judah, possibly also of Israel as well.
2. Jehovah"s. To punish Rehoboam and Judah for their apostasy. Though second causes need not be overlooked, they must not be permitted to obscure, far less to deny, the first. Had Rehoboam remained faithful to Jehovah, all the intrigues of Jeroboam would have failed to start Shishak on the extradition here reported.
IV THE PROGRESS. Shishak captured all the fenced cities of Judah in which Rehoboam trusted, (2Ch_11:5-9) and encamped his army before the walls of Jerusalem. Vain, after all, had been Rehoboam"s confidence. His garrisons and soldiers had yielded the first assault, The props on which men lean often prove broken reeds. The shelters to which sinners run in the day of calamity mostly turn out refuges of lies. (Isa_28:17)
Lessons.
1. The certainty of sin being sooner or later overtaken by retribution. (Num_32:23)
1. The weakness of all defences, whether for nations or for individuals, when God is not within them. (Psa_127:1)
2. When God has a sinner to chastise he can easily find an instrumentwherewith to do it. W. (Isa_10:5)
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 It happened
It happened
This phrase is used here to mark where the action starts. If your language has a way for doing this, you could consider using it here.
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in the fifth year of King Rehoboam
This refers to the fifth year of Rehoboam's reign as king. AT: "in the fifth year that Rehoboam was king" or "in year five of King Rehoboam's reign" (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information and Ordinal Numbers)
Shishak, king of Egypt, came up against Jerusalem
"Shishak, king of Egypt" here is a metonym for Shishak along with the Egyptian army. AT: "Shishak, king of Egypt, and his army with him, came up against Jerusalem" (See: Metonymy)
Shishak
This is the name of a man. (See: How to Translate Names)
came up against
This is an idiom that means marched against or attacked. AT: "came to attack" (See: Idiom)
twelve hundred chariots and sixty thousand horsemen
"1,200 chariots and 60,000 horsemen" (See: Numbers)
Soldiers without number
This exaggeration means that there were more soldiers than a person could easily count. AT: "Many soldiers" (See: Hyperbole and Generalization)
Libyans, Sukkites, and Cushites
These are people from Libya, Sukki, and Ethiopia. The location of Sukki is uncertain, but it may be a region in Libya. (See: How to Translate Names and Translate Unknowns)
translationWords
Egypt
Jerusalem
faithful
chariot
horseman
Ethiopia
kingdom of Judah
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 12:2-4 Shishak, also known as Shoshenq I (945–924 BC),…
12:2-4 Shishak, also known as Shoshenq I (945–924 BC), ruled a reunited Egypt and founded the 22nd dynasty.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.