Reading for September 7th

 Read 1 Kings 17.17-24. In verse 17: The women who was previously described as destitute is called the mistress of the house. This is one indication that the story in vv. 17-24 has been adapted from or influenced by the story about Elisha in 2 Kings 4.11-37. In verse 18: The woman implies that her son's death is divine punishment for some sin. In verse 19: The upper chamber is another element drawn from the story in 2 Kings 4, which explains how the chamber was built for the prophet. In verses 21-22: Elijah's actions suggest that life or "breath" went from Elijah's body into the boy's so that he revived. Examples of this kind of contact magic are found elsewhere from the ancient Near East.  The point of the story, however, is that this was the Lord's doing. Comments or Questions..

Reading for September 6th

 Read 1 Kings 17.1-16. In 17.1-24: Elijah and the drought. In verse 1: Elijah means "Yahweh is (my) God," and it sets the theme for the following chapters. The cessation of rain shows that it is the Lord (Yahweh), not Baal who controls the elements and therefore fertility. In verse 3: A Wadi was a stream bed with or without water rather than a brook, as it has been translated. In verse 9: Elijah is sent north into Phoenician territory. The two stories that follow show Elijah's status as a miracle-working man of God. Comments or Questions..

Reading for September 5th

 Read 1 Kings 16.29-34. In 16.29-34: The beginning of Ahab's reign. Like his father, Ahab was also a powerful king. His prominence in the Bible, however, is due to religious reasons. He is regarded as the most wicked king of Israel (v. 33), largely because of his wife, Jezebel (v. 32). His reign also stands out in 1 Kings as the setting of the Elijah stories. In verse 31: Jezebel means "Where is the prince?" and comes from ritual lamentation in the worship of Baal. Ethbaal means "Baal exists." These names set the stage for the conflict between the Lord (Yahweh) and Baal in the following stories. Ethbaal was king of Tyre, a city-state of the Phoenicians, who are here called Sidonians. In verse 34: This verse alludes to the curse in Josh 6.26. It is unclear whether at the cost of implies accidental death of the sons or deliberate sacrifice. The practice of burying children in the foundation of buildings to bring good fortune is known from elsewhere in the ancient Near East. Comments or Questions..

Reading for September 4th

 Read 1 Kings 16.21-28. In 16.21-28: Omri of Israel. In verses 21-22: The civil war described here was between two other military commanders, Omri and Tibni, with Omri eventually being victorious. In verse 24: Omri's acquisition of Samaria and his designation of it as his capital was similar to David's acquisition and establishment of Jerusalem as his capital. In verse 25-28: Historically, Omri was one of the most powerful and important kings of Israel. He founded a dynasty that lasted through five kings. Israel was known by other countries as the "house of Omri" for generations after Omri's death. The fact that the deuteronomist disposes of Omri in just a few verses using the same formulas as foe all other kings indicates that his interests are primarily theological rather than historical. Comments or Questions..

Reading for September 3rd

 Read 1 Kings 16.15--20. In 16.15-20: Zimri of Israel. The formulaic nature of the deuteronomistic evaluation is clear in this case from the fact that Zimri reigned only seven days (v. 15), yet he is still condemned for all the sins of his predecessors (v. 19). Comments or Questions.. 

Reading for September 2nd

 Read 1 Kings 16.8-14. In 16.8-14: Elah of Israel. In verse 9: Like Baasha, Zimri  was a general in the army who led a revolt. In verses 11-13: Zimri follows the standard practice of wiping out all the male heirs of the previous house. Again, the deuteronomist explains this theologically as punishment from the Lord as predicted by a prophet. Comments or Questions.

Reading for September 1st

 Read 1 Kings 15.33-16.7. In 15.33-16.7: Baasha of Israel. In 15.34: The sin that (Jeroboam) caused is real to commit was the worship at the shrines of Dan and Bethel (12.25-33). In 16.1-4: This oracle predicts the demise of the house of Baasha in terms very similar to the one against Jeroboam in 14.7-11. Both are likely the work of the deuteronomist. In verse 7: This very verse seems secondary because it is repetitive of vv. 1-4 and because it follows the closing formula for Baasha in vv. 5-6. The last clause, and also because he destroyed it has been understood by some as "even though he destroyed "(the house of Jeroboam)". Comments or Questions..

Reading for August 31st

 Read 1 Kings 15.25--32. In 15.25-32: Nadab of Israel.  Nadab marks the end of the royal house of Jeroboam. In verse 26: His ancestors is literally "his father," Jeroboam. In verse 27: Baasha was an army general who led a government takeover. In verses 29-30: After assassinating Nadab, Baasha killed all of Jeroboam's male heirs because they were potential rivals for the throne. This was customary practice for the founders of new royal houses. The deuteronomist, however, sees this as punishment for Jeroboam as prophesied by Alijah (14.7-11). Comments or Questions..

Reading for August 30th

 Read 1 Kings 15.9- 24. In 15.9-24: Asa of Judah. In verse 12: The term for idols is a disparaging one and sounds like the word for "dung" in 14.10. In verse 13: The nature of Maach's abominable image is not known; it may have been related to Asherah's role as a Canaanite fertility goddess. In verse 14: The high places were shrines. Here, they were apparently used for the worship of the Lord, not of other gods. In verse 17: Ramah was in Benjamin on the main road between north and south. In verse 20: The places listed in this verse are all in northern Israel. Thus, Asa used Ben-hadad to divert Baasha's attention from his southern border with Judah. In verse 22: None was exempt means that Asa conscripted a labor force of all the men of Judah for this project. Geba and Mizpah were on opposite sides of a pass along the north-south road a little north of Ramah. Asa was, therefore, extending his northern border. In verse 23: Feet is probably a euphemism for sexual organs; Asa likely died of a venereal disease. This verse implies that the disease was punishment for some unnamed sin. Comments or Questions..

Reading for August 29th

 Read 1 Kings 15.1-8. In 15.1-8: Abijam of Judah. In verse 1: Abijam is called Abijah in 2 Chr 13.1 and judges in Chronicles to be good. In verse 2: Abishalom is apparently Absalom,  David's rebellious son (2 Sam 13-19). if so, Maach would have been David's granddaughter. In verse 4: A lamp also mean a fiefdom or minor domain. Inverse 6: This verse is repetitive; see 14.30. Comments or Questions..

Reading for August 28th

 Read 1 Kings 14.19-31. In 14.19-31: The reigns of Jeroboam and Rehoboam. Most of these verses are the standard deuteronomistic formulas for kings. In verse 19: The Book of the Annuals of the kings of Israel no longer exists, so its exact nature is unknown. In verse 20; Slept with his ancestors is an idiom for death. In verses 21-24: The typical beginning formula for a king of Judah included the name of the "queen mother," the mother of the king. High places were shrines used for worship. Pillars were standing stones used in worship. The biblical writers connected them especially with service to other gods. On sacred poles, see comment on v. 15. In verses 25-26: Shishak (also called Shoshenq or Sheshonk) invaded Palestine around 922 BCE. His annals mentioned sites in Israel but not Jerusalem, apparently because Rehoboam paid him off. In verse 29: The Book of the Annals of the Kings of Judah also no longer exists. In verse 31: Ancestors is literally "fathers." Rehoboam is buried with the previous kings of Judah, as are subsequent kings as well, in the city of David. The location of these tombs is not known, but was probably not within the walls of Jerusalem. Comments or Questions..

Reading for August 27th

 Read 1 Kings 14.1-18. In 14.1-18: The oracle against Jeroboam. In verse 3: The ten loves, some cakes, and a jar of honey are payment to a seer for revealing the future. In verse 6: Abijah, as a true man of God, know that his visitor is the wife of Jeroboam despite his blindness (v. 4) and her disguise (vv. 2, 5). In verses 7-11: These verses, a deuteronomistic insertion, focus on the fate of Jeroboam's royal house rather than on that of his ill son. Jeroboam had the opportunity to establish a dynasty like David's (v. 8), but his sin will prevent that from happening. All of Jeroboam's male heirs (v. 10, male is literally "one who urinates on a wall') will be killed by a usurper. The threat in v. 11 is drawn from a curse of non-burial. In verses 12-14: The original oracle told of the impending death of Jeroboam's son and mentioned the coming of a new royal house, but without elaboration. In verse 15: Sacred poles were fertility symbols used in the worship of the Canaanite goddess, Asherah. In verses 17-18: The fulfillment of Abijah's prophecy. Comments or Questions..

Reading for August 26th

Read 1 Kings 13.20-34. In verses 20-25: The harsh judgment is meant to teach a lesson. The young man of God should have obeyed the Lord rather than trusting another prophet. In verses 31-32: The oracle is fulfilled in the purge of Josiah (2 Kings 23.15-18), who saves the bones of the old prophet. The reference to the cities of Samaria can be no earlier than 721 BCE, when Israel was  annexed by the Assyrians and turned into an Assyrian province. In verses 33-34;  After the prophetic legend, the narrative returns to the topic of Jeroboam's apostasy. Comments or Questions.. 

Reading for August 25th

 Read 1 Kings 13/11-19. In 11.11-34: The young man of God and the old prophet. This is the main part of the story. It has nothing to do with Jeroboam but concerns obedience to the prophetic word and has affinities with other prophetic legends such as 1 Kings 20 and the  stories about Elijah and Elisha. In verse 18: The motive of the old prophet in lying to his younger colleague is not explained. Comments or Questions..

Reading for August 24th

Read 1 Kings 13.1-10. In 13.1-10: The oracle against the altar at Bethel. The prophetic legend in this chapter was probably inserted here after the completion of the Deuteronomistic History. Its  setting, however, is Jeroboam's ascent to the altar at Bethel, apparently at its dedication (see 12.33). In verse 2: This story probably arose after the time of Josiah (640-609 BCE), who is credited with destroying the shrine at Bethel (2 Kings 23.15-18) some 300 years after Jeroboam. In verse 3: Sign here implies an unusual or miraculous occurrence. It looks ahead to v. 5,though it is not clear there how the altar was torn down. In verse 4: Jeroboam's withered hand or arm is miraculous, but it is not called a sign. In verse 9: Eating and drinking at Bethel would have indicated approval of the shrine there. Comments or Questions..

Reading for August 23rd

 Read 1 Kings 12.25-33. In 12.25-33: The sin of Jeroboam. In verse 25: Jeroboam built Shechem and Penuel not in the sense of building them from the ground up but in the sense of fortifying already existing sites. In verse 28: Images of claves and bulls were commonly used in the ancient Near east to represent deities, especially fertility god like Baal. The golden claves and Jeroboam's words to the people about them are reminiscent of the golden calf built by Aaron in Ex 32 and his words in 32.4. In verse 29: Dan was regarded as the northernmost city in Israel. Bethel was near the border between Israel and Judah. In verse 31: The houses on the high places were temples at various local shrines. Besides the royal sanctuaries at Dan and Bethel making it unnecessary to make the pilgrimage to Jerusalem, the writer accuses Jeroboam of setting up temples throughout his land. These were probably shrines to the Lord but the writer regards Jerusalem as the only legitimate place to worship the Lord. Another aspect of Jeroboam's apostasy, in the writer's view, was his appointment of non Levites as priests at the local shrines. In verse 32: Jeroboam is also accused of changing the religious calendar by establishing a festival in the eight month to rival the Feast of Tabernacles in the seventh month in Jerusalem when the Temple there was dedicated (see 8.65). Comments or Questions..

Reading for August 22nd

 Read 1 Kings 12.16-24. In verse 16: To your tents, O Israel is a summons to military demobilization. The people, especially the army, of Israel is withdrawing from Rehoboam. A similar cry went up at Sheba's revolt in 2 Sam 20.1. In verse 18: Adoram is mentioned in 2 Sam 20.24 and 1 Kings 4.6 (Adoniram) as the head of the forced labor for David and Solomon. His presence was particularly bitter and insulting reminder to the Israelite people of the burden of labor they had been forced to endure under Solomon. hence, they stoned him. In verse 19; Even though the bulk of Israel left the house of David and sided with Rehoboam, the writer speaks of Israel's being in rebellion, indicating that his perspective is that of a citizen of Judah. In addition, the phrase to this day shows the writer lived at a considerably later date. In verses 21-24: Shemaiah's oracle expresses the view of v. 15 that the division was the Lord's doing. It addresses Judah and Benjamin (v. 23) while v. 20 speaks of Judah alone as the southern kingdom. Benjamin was probably divided between the two counties. Comments or Questions..

Reading for August 21st

 Read 1 Kings12.1-15. In 12.1-24: The division of the kingdom. In verses 2-3a: These verses are contradicted by v. 20, in which Jeroboam does not return until after the succession of the northern tribes. Verses 2-3a are not in the Greek (Septuagint LXX) version of 1 Kings and are probably a secondary scribal gloss. In verse 10: My fathers loins is a euphemism. Rehoboam is saying that he is more of a man than his father so that the people can expect hasher treatment from him than from Solomon. In verse 11: Rehoboam makes the same point here, where scorpions may refer to a particularly vicious kind of whip. In verse 12: Jeroboam's name is secondary here, having been added under the influence of  vv. 2-3a. In verse 15: The author interprets the events is explicitly theological terms as the Lord's doing to fulfill Ahijah's oracle in 11.29-39. Comments or Questions..

Reading for August 20th

 Read 1 Kings 11.26--41. In verse 26: Jeroboam was Solomon's third adversary. In verse 27: The reason he rebelled against Solomon was Ahijah's oracle (vv. 29-39) promising him kingship over the northern tribes. In verses 29-32: One tribe is either missing or presumed in Ahijah's symbolic division of the kingdom, since Jeroboam receives ten pieces and only one of the twelve pieces is kept for David. Different scholars have proposed that the tribes of Benjamin, Simeon, or Levi are assumed to accompany Judah. In verse 36: The word translated lamp can refer to a "fiefdom" or minor domain. In verses 37-38; Jeroboam receives the same promise of an enduring dynasty that was given to David. if he will be obedient to Yahweh. In verse 40: It is not clear how Solomon found out about Ahijah's oracle to Jeroboam. In verses 41-43 This is typical of the concluding notices the Deuteronomist supplies for the reign of kings. The Book of the Acts of Solomon is no longer extant. Forty years (v. 42) is a round number for the length of a generation. that Solomon slept with the ancestors is an idiomatic way of saying that he died. Comments or Questions..

Reading for August 19th

 Read 1 Kings 11.1-25. In 11.143: Solomon's troubles. The writer has divided the account of Solomon's reign into two parts for theological reasons. The first part (chs. 1-10) told of his successes, the greatest of which was the building of the Temple. But the division of the kingdom after Solomon required an explanation, which the writer furnishes in the account of Solomon's religious failures in ch. 11. In verse 1: Solomon's many foreign wives were partly the result of treaties with other nations. In verse 2: See Deut 7.1-4for the law prohibiting foreign marriages. In verse 3: A large harem was also a symbol of royal grandeur. The princesses were not all of royal birth but had gained royal status through marriage. Concubines, on the other hand, had no royal status but were female slaves used for sexual purposes. In verse 4: The statement that Solomon's heart was not true is a pun on his name. The word "true" in Hebrew is "shalem," which sounds like 'Shelomoh," Solomon in Hebrew. In verse 5: Astate was a prominent Phoenician and Canaanite goddess. The Hebrew text deliberately distorts her name to "Ashroreth" to rhyme with the word "bosheth," meaning "abomination/" Milcom was the chief god of the Ammonites who lived in the area of modern northern Jordan. In verse 7:Chemosh was the chief god of the Moabites in central Jordan. Molech is a distortion of the name Milcom. In verses 11-13: The announcement of Solomon's punishment anticipates the story of the division of the kingdom, under Rehoboam in the next chapter. In verses 14-25: Solomon's first two adversaries are foreign. The word adversary is "stan," which does not imply any supernatural force in this case. The fact that both Hadad the Edomite and Rezon began their careers during David's reign indicates that they caused trouble for Solomon early in his reign. However, the writer has paced their stories here because of the positioning of the account of Solomon into 'positive" and "negative sections. Comments or Questions..

Reading for August 18th

 Read 1 Kings 10.14-29. In 10.14-29: More on Solomon's wealth and activities. In  verse 14: Six hundred sixty-six talents of gold would be an enormous sum-between thirty and eighty-five tons! See comment on 9.914. In verses 16-17: There were 50 shekels in a mina and 60 minas in a talent, which could weigh between 45 and 130 pounds. Thus the large shields would have weighed between 9 and 26 pounds and the small ones half as much. Inverse 22: Ships of Tarshish were probably large ships capable of making a long voyage. Tarshish was a site in south Spain that represented the western extreme of the world known to the biblical writers. In verse 27: The Shephelah is the lowland area in southern Palestine between the Mediterranean coastland and the central highlands. In verse 28:Kue was in southern Anatolia (Turkey) near Cilicia. Egypt (Heb.,"Misrayirn") may be a mistake for Musri, also Anatolia north of Kue. Comments or Questions..

Reading for August 17th

 Read 1 Kings 10.1-13. In 10.1-13: The queen of Sheba visits. Sheba was in Arabia, perhaps modern Yemen. The queen may have come on a trade mission from one of the tribes living in the area. The story has been greatly elaborated as a display of Solomon's wealth and wisdom. In verse 5: Spirit may mean "breath." In verse 9: It is rather surprising that a foreigner blesses by the name of Israel's God, Yahweh. This  may be what the writer thinks she must have said. In verse 10: On the weight of a talent, see comment on 9.14. In verse 12: The reference to almug wood occurs only here in the Bible, the exact species is unknown. Comments or Questions...

Reading for August 16th

 Read 1 Kings 8.15-28. In verses  15-22: The Millo probably meaning "fill," seems to have been earthwork connecting the Temple area to the palace complex on the south. Hazor, Megiddo, and Gezer (v.15) were all important administrative centers for Solomon. The Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites (v. 20) are names the Bible uses for different native Canaanite peoples. They are familiar from the book of Genesis (Gen 15.19-20). The claim (v. 22) that Solomon did not force Israelites to work in his levy of slaves seems contradicted by 5.13;11.28 and the events in ch. 12. In verse 24: Pharaoh's daughter is a subtheme in chs. 1-11 (see 3.1;9.16) that leads up to the report of his sin in ch.11. In verses 26-28: The location of Ophar is unknown, it may have been in southern Arabia. On the weight of a talent see comment on v. 14. Comments or Questions..

Reading for August 15th

 Read 1 Kings 9.10-14. In 9.10-28: Other activities of Solomon.  In verses 10-14: Solomon seems to be in financial difficulties and is forced to sell land though his bargaining appears shrewd. Cabul (v.13) is explained as meaning "as nothing." This is a popular etymology or even an etiology (a story or report that explains something's origin). The real meaning of the name is unknown. The talent was a measure of weight . Its amount varied, but it could be as much as 130 pounds. Comments or Questions..

Reading for August 14th

 Read 1 Kings 9.1-9. In 9.1-9: The Lord appears to Solomon again. The promise to David of an eternal dynasty is extended to Solomon, but only on the condition of his obedience. Verse 6-9: anticipates the disobedience of Solomon and other kings, as well as the exile. Comments or Questions..

Reading for August 13th

 Read 1 Kings 8.62-66. These verses describe Solomon's great sacrifice and celebration at the Temple dedication. The bronze altar (v. 64) was the altar of burnt offering, which, oddly was not described among the bronze works of Hiram in ch. 7. The festival was the Feast of Tabernacles or Booth ('sukkot") described in Lev 23.33-44; Num 29.12-38. From Lebo-hamath to the Wadi of Egypt describes the idealized boundaries of Israel during the reigns of David and Solomon, from northern Syria to the Egyptian border. Comments or Questions..

Reading for August 12th

 Read 1 Kings 8.54-61. The benediction mentioned (the Lord's) commandments, his statues, and his ordinances (v. 58), which is away of referring to the law of Moses. The confession that the Lord is God; there is no other (v. 60) is very similar to the traditional confession of Judaism known as the "shema" (Deut 6.4). Comments or Questions..

Reading for August 11th

 Read 1 Kings 8.22-53. Solomon's prayer contains seven petitions which address various problems and ask the Lord to heed the prayers made in and toward the Temple. Scholars debate whether this prayer or part of it comes before Exile or after it. Verses 44-53, in particular, are often considered a later explanation of the prayer. The idea behind the word heritage in v. 53 is that each nation has its own god and each god his own people; the Lord's heritage is Israel. Comments or Questions..

Reading for August 10th

 Read 1 Kings 8.1-21. In 8.1-66: The dedication of the Temple. In verse 2: The month of Ethanim, is also called Tishri, was in the fall (September-October). This means that the dedication of the Temple occurred nearly a year after its completion. In verses 7-8: The ark was carried by poles inside of rings on either side of the box that was the ark proper. The expression to this day may indicate that the writer lived while the Temple was still standing. In verse 11: The glory of the Lord was the thick cloud that symbolized the Lord's presence. In verses 15-21: Solomon's speech beginning in this verse is a deuteronomistic composition. It links the promise to David of a dynasty (2 Sam 7) with that of the rest for Israel (Deut 12.11-12). It therefor identifies the "place" described in Deuteronomy with Solomon's Temple. Comments or Questions..

Reading for August 9th

 Read 1 Kings 7.27-51. In verses 27-39: The ten stands and ten lavers were also richly decorated with symbols of fertility and divine power. In verse 48: The golden altar was apparently for burning incense. On the bread of presence, see Lev 24.5-9. In verse 49: The lampstands were made to hold lamps consisting of of a container for oil and a wick. They were not candlesticks. Comments or Questions..

Reading for August 8th

 Read 1 Kings 7.13-26. In 7.13-51: The bronze furnishings of the Temple. In verses 13-14: This Hiram is not the king but a craftsman. 2 Chronicles 2.12-13 calls him Huram-Abi. Skill, literally "wisdom." This word may also mean skill at a particular craft, and that is doubtless as nuance here. In verses 15-22: The two pillars had some symbolic meaning that is no longer clear.  Their names, Jachin ("the establishes") and Boaz ("in him is strength") may represent the Lord's foundation of the earth or sacred trees (v. 21). In verses 23-26: The molten sea possibly represented the primeval chaos which the Lord had defeated before making the world, in one version of creation. Another possibility is that the molten sea represents the primeval deep out of which the Lord created the universe, according to Gen 1. The twelve oxen on which it stood (v. 25) were fertility symbols. Comments or Questions..