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I Kings 14:1

1kgs-14-1269 words

1Ki 14:1-3

When his son fell sick, Jeroboam said to his wife: Disguise thyself, that thou mayest not be known as the wife of Jeroboam, and go to Shiloh to the prophet Ahijah, who told me that I should be king over this people; he will tell thee how it will fare with the boy. השׁתּנּה, from שׁנה, to alter one’s self, i.e., to disguise one’s self. She was to go to Shiloh disguised, so as not to be recognised, to deceive the old prophet, because otherwise Jeroboam did not promise himself any favourable answer, as he had contemptuously neglected Ahijah’s admonition (1Ki 11:38-39). But he turned to this prophet because he had spoken concerning him למלך, to be king, i.e., that he would become king, over this people. למלך stands for מלך להיות, with which the infinitive esse can be omitted (vid., Ewald, §336, b.). As this prophecy, which was so favourable to Jeroboam, had come to pass (1Ki 11:29-30), he hoped that he might also obtain from Ahijah a divine revelation concerning the result of his son’s illness, provided that he did not know who it was who came to seek counsel concerning her sick son. To complete the deception, she was to take with her as a present for the prophet (cf., 1Sa 9:8) “ten loaves and crumbs” and a jar with honey, i.e., a trifling gift such as a simple citizen’s wife might take. According to the early versions and the context, a kind of plain cake, κολλυρίδα (lxx), crustulam (Vulg.). It is different in Jos 9:5.