The Pulpit Commentary
Now in the eighteenth year of king Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, reigned Abijam [see note on 1Ki_14:31. It is implied in 2Ch_11:20-22 that he was not the firstborn among Rehoboam's twenty-eight sons, but the eldest son of the favourite wife. As he left behind him thirty-eight children (2Ch_13:21) at his decease, some three years later, he must have been of considerable age at his accession. This consideration rather favours the idea that Rehoboam was "forty and one years old when he began to reign" (2Ch_12:13)] over Judah.

The Pulpit Commentary
Three years [The Alex. LXX. says δεκὰεξ, sixteen. The" three years" are not to be interpreted strictly. As he ascended the throne in the eighteenth and died in the twentieth year of Jeroboam's reign, he cannot have completed three years. But it does not follow that "he cannot have reigned much more than two years" (Rawlinson, and similarly Keil). He may have reigned all but three] reigned he in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Maachah [in 2Ch_13:2 called Michaiah, Heb. Michajahu. That the same person is meant is proved as well by the context as by 2Ch_11:21, where the name is given as here. Keil (cf. Dict. Bib. 2:162) ascribes the discrepancy to an error of the copyist; but the names are so unlike in the original as to discountenance this assumption. I venture to suggest that Michajahu was the significant form—the word means "Who is like Jehovah?"—which the name Maachah, "oppression," borne by the Geshurite princess who married David (2Sa_3:3) assumed when she joined the Lord's people, and embraced, as no doubt she would do, the religion of Jehovah. Such a change would be quite in accordance with the genius and traditions of the Semitic races (Gen_17:5, Gen_17:15; Gen_30:1-43. passim; Gen_32:28; Gen_41:45; Exo_6:3, etc. Cf. 2Ki_23:34; 2Ki_24:17; Hos_1:4, Hos_1:6), and there may well have been special reasons in this case, apart from the piety of David, why it should be made. For the name Maachah appears to have been taken Iron the town and district of that name near Geshur—a part of Syria was called Syria Maachah (1Ch_19:6; cf. 2Sa_10:6-8). In 2Sa_20:14, 2Sa_20:15 we read of a district of Beth Maachah—and it not improbably witnessed to unhappy memories. How natural it would be that David's bride should take a name of better omen and of a religious import, and how natural that the grand-daughter who bore her name should be called by that name in both its forms. Since writing the above, I find that a somewhat similar idea has occurred long since to others. Both Kimchi and Jarchi hold that she had two names. It is supposed by some that she assumed the name Michaiah, as more dignified, on becoming queen. Wordsworth thinks that Michaiah was her real name, and that it was degraded into Maachah when she was deposed for idolatry. This latter view dovetails with the one suggested above. It would be quite in accordance with Jewish usages and habits of thought that the name which had been changed into Michaiah when the grandmother became a proselyte, should be changed back into Maachah when this princess apostatized], the daughter [rather, grand-daughter. בַּת includes all female descendants, as אֵם (see 2Sa_20:10) all anxestresses] of Abishalom. We can hardly doubt that Absalom, the son of David, is meant here. We have

(1) the express statement of 2Ch_11:21, "Rehoboam loved Maachah, the daughter of Absalom," etc.

(2) The fact that two of Rehoboam's other wives were of the family of David, which shows that it was part of his policy to marry the daughters of that house.

(3) The mother of Absalom was named Maachah (2Sa_3:3).

(4) The name is so uncommon—in fact, it is ἅπαξ λεγ—that another person can hardly be intended. Moreover the variation in spelling is extremely slight. It has been held, however, that a different person is designated by the name, principally because Absalom had hut one daughter whose name was Tamar (2Sa_14:27), whereas Abijah's mother is said to have been the daughter of Uriel of Gibeah (2Ch_13:2). But this difficulty admits of an easy solution. Tamar was doubtless married to Uriel, and Maachah was the fruit of this marriage. And with this explanation agrees the account of Josephus (Ant. 8.10, 1).

The Pulpit Commentary
And he walked in all the sins of his father, which he had done before him [sins, i.e; from the theocratic standpoint. See 1Ki_14:22, 1Ki_14:25. It does not appear that either Abijah or Rehoboam was a vicious man, and from his pious language on Mount Zemaraim (2Ch_13:10-12) we should certainly have thought that Abijah was a god-fearing prince. But 1Ki_14:13 proves that he had sanctioned idolatry, and this was no doubt his principal sin, as the next words explain]: and his heart was not perfect with the Lord and his God, as the heart of David his father [the words used of Solomon. 1Ki_2:4].

The Pulpit Commentary
Nevertheless [כִי but, sed, sondern, Gesen. 393] for David's sake did the Lord his God give him a lamp [Better than margin, candle. The word is "always used figuratively of progeny." See note on 1Ki_2:26; and of 2Sa_21:17; Job_18:5, Job_18:6; Psa_132:17] in Jerusalem, to set up his son after him, and to establish Jerusalem [But for David's piety, that is to say, his family would have been dethroned, if not destroyed, as was that of Jeroboam (1Ki_14:10), of Baasha (1Ki_16:2), of Ahab (2Ki_10:11), etc. Abijah was the third prince of that line who had permitted idolatrous worship, so that that dynasty had richly deserved to forfeit its position. The stability of the family of David on the throne for nearly 400 years, amid all the changes and chances of that period, and whilst in Israel there were "nine changes of dynasty within 250 years" is, as Rawlinson remarks, very "difficult to account for on mere grounds of human reason"]:

The Pulpit Commentary
Because [אֲשֶר, here causative for יַעַן אי. Comp. quod] David did that which was right in the eyes of the Lord, and turned not aside from anything that he commanded him all the days of his life, save only in the matter of Uriah the Hittite. [2Sa_2:4. But this last clause is not found in the LXX; and such a statement was more likely to be inserted by transcribers, having first appeared in the margin as a gloss, than to be omitted, had it ever formed part of the text. And in support of this view it may be alleged that

(1) the matter of Uriah was by no means David's only sin, and

(2) it is not the manner of our writer thus to qualify his words. See next verse.]

The Pulpit Commentary
And there was war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam all the days of his life. [Practically identical with 1Ki_14:30, where see note. Thenius thinks the insertion of the words were due to the carelessness of some copyist, and Bähr admits that our present text is possibly not the original one. For Rehoboam, some MSS; with the Syriac and Arabic, read Abijah, but this is clearly an emendation, which in turn begets another repetition (1Ki_14:7), and there is really no need either to alter or suspect the text. Such repetitions are quite in accordance with Eastern usage, and Rehoboam here stands for the house of Rehoboam, or the cause and kingdom which Rehoboam represented. The object of mentioning his name can hardly be "to remind the reader that Abijam inherited this war from his father" (Rawlinson), for it was only on Rehoboam's death that the slumbering hostility blazed out into actual war. That there was warfare between Abi-jam and Jeroboam we know not only from 1Ki_14:7, but from 2Ch_13:3-20 also.

The Pulpit Commentary
Now the rest of the acts of Abijam and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles [see note on 1Ki_14:29. The marginal reference to 2Ch_13:1-22. misleads the casual reader] of the kings of Judah? And there was war [not only hostility, but open war (Vulgate, praelium), hence the repetition] between Abijam and Jeroboam.

The Pulpit Commentary
And Abijam slept with his fathers; and they buried him in the city of David [This fact alone should negative Lightfoot's theory as to his name; see note on 1Ki_14:31]: and Ass his son reigned in his stead.

The Reign of Asa.

The Pulpit Commentary
And in the twentieth year of Jeroboam king of Israel reigned Ass [Gesen. interprets the name to mean "physician"] over Judah. [This reign is related at much greater length in 2Ch_14:1-15.—16. We are there told of the Ethiopian invasion, of the prophecies of Azariah and Hanani, of the league with Syria, etc.]

The Pulpit Commentary
And forty and one years reigned he in Jerusalem [Corn. a Lapide points out that Ass saw eight kings of Israel on the throne, Jeroboam, Nadab, Baasha, Elah, Zimri, Tibni, Omri, and Ahab]. And his mother's [or grandmother's, as margin] name was Maachah, the daughter of Abishalom. [The same words as in 1Ki_15:2, and the reference can hardly be to a different person. Bähr indeed questions whether אֵם can here stand for grandmother,

(1) because in every other case it designates the king's mother,

(2) Because the mother of the king, and not the grandmother, enjoyed the dignity and position of Gebirah (1Ki_15:13; 2Ch_15:16). Some would read for Abishalom, Uriel of Gibeah; others, strengthened by the Michaiah of 2Ch_13:2, think the historian mistaken in mentioning the name of Abijam's mother (2Ch_13:2; 2Ch_11:21) as Maachah. The difficulty by no means admits of a ready solution, but perhaps the best explanation is that the grandmother, Maachah, Rehoboam's favourite wife, retained her position, possibly by force of character, or because Asa's mother was dead. It is not certain, however, that if the latter had lived she would have displaced Maashah, of whose influence and imperious temper we have several indications; e.g; in the appointment of her son, though not the firstborn, to succeed his father, and in her open maintenance of idol worship, and above all in the fact that she was publicly deposed by Asa.

The Pulpit Commentary
And Ass did that which was right in the eyes of the Lord, as did David his father. ["It is a wonder how Ass should be good, of the seed of Abijam, of the son of Maachah" (Hall).]

The Pulpit Commentary
And he took away the Sodomites [see on 1Ki_14:24, and Rom_1:23-27. It appears from 1Ki_22:46 that this abomination was not wholly suppressed] out of the land, and removed all the idols [גִּלֻּלִים from גָּלַל volvit A term of contempt (see Deu_29:17, where it is coupled with "abominations; "Eze_23:37); but whether the word is to be interpreted by גֵּלֶל a ball of dung, in which case these idols (Dei stereorei) would have a designation like Beelzebul ("the lord of dung"), or with גַּל a heap of stones (Gen_31:46, Gen_31:48), Dei lapidei, is uncertain. Keil would translate logs, Gesenius trunks, stocks, which from being rolled might well bear this name] that his fathers had made.

The Pulpit Commentary
And also Maachah his mother, oven her he removed from being queen [Rather, queen-mother. Gebiruh, as already pointed out on 1Ki_2:19, answers to the Sultana Valide. The Vulgate reads, Ne esset princeps in sacris Priapi. Wordsworth reminds us of the position which the queen-mother Atossa holds in the Persae. A queen consort is hardly possible in a polygamous household; see Kitto, 4:177] because [Heb. which, as in verse 5] she had made all idol [מִפְלֶצֶת from פָמלץ terruit, signifies an object of fear, formido—not pudendum, a thing of shame, as the Rabbis and others have held, i.e; a phallic image (simulacrum obscoenum, Jerome), but horrendum. The devout Jew could not but regard such objects with horror] in a grove [Heb. for (i.e; to serve as) an Asherah. See note on 1Ki_14:15, 1Ki_14:23. Asherah is not the name of the goddess (= Astarte), as Wordsworth thinks, but of the image], and Asa destroyed [Marg. cut off, Heb. simply cut, which here must mean cut down. The image was, no doubt, planted erect in the ground] her idol [horror, as above], and burnt it [this shows that it was made of wood] by the brook Kidron. [Cf. Exo_32:20. Here, as in 1Ki_17:3 (where see note), our translators have been unable to adhere strictly to the original "in the brook," etc; from not knowing that נַחַל, which primarily means "brook," also means" watercourse," wady. It is probable that the brook was at this time flowing, and that the ashes of the wooden Asherah were cast into it; but the burning also took place in the Wady, or valley. We read of another similar burning in 2Ki_23:4, 2Ki_23:6; but in this ease the ashes were either carried to Bethel or cast upon the graves, to defile them. It is a fair inference that on this latter occasion the Kedron was dry. The valley, "the fields of the Kedron" (2Ki_23:4 l.c.), is conveniently placed for such a purpose.]

The Pulpit Commentary
But the high places [evidently such as are referred to in 1Ki_3:1-28, i.e; unauthorized shrines of Jehovah; cf. 2Ki_14:4] were not taken away [lit; departed not. Yet we read in 2 Chronicles 45:3, that Asa "took away the high places (cf. verse 5). But it is clear, even from 2Ch_15:17, that all of them were not re moved, and the discrepancy arises from the well-known Eastern idiom of putting the whole for the part, of which we have in stances in Gen_7:19; Exo_9:25, etc. Cf. Exo_9:32; 2Ki_9:35, and see below. Asa probably aimed at removing all, and he may have removed all out of the cities (2Ch_14:5), but some remained in the country districts or in remote places. Or he may have swept them away for a short time, and they may have been stealthily and gradually reintroduced. It may be interesting to remark here that down to the present day the cultus of the high places exists—under a modified form, it is true—in Palestine. Every traveller will remember the Mukama which crown almost every hill. The religion of the Fellahin, though nominally Mohammedan, is really, like that of China, a worship of the dead. "In almost every village of the country a small building, surmounted by a whitewashed dome, is observable, being the sacred chapel of the place; it is variously called Kubbeh, "dome," Mazor, "shrine," or Mukam, "station," the latter being a Hebrew word, used in the Bible for the places of the Canaanites (Deu_2:2)… Just as in the time of Moses, so now the position chosen for the Mukam is generally conspicuous This Mukam represents the real religion of the peasant"]: nevertheless Asa's heart was perfect with the Lord all his days. [We have here a notable instance of the Oriental exaggeration just referred to. For the very same expression is used by the chronicler (2Ch_15:17), who in the next chapter (2 Chronic;es 2Ki_16:7-12) tells us of Asa's unfaithfulness in his old age.]

The Pulpit Commentary
And he brought in the things which his gather had dedicated [Heb. the holy things of his father. These were probably the spoils Abijah had taken in his war with Jeroboam (2Ch_13:18)], and the things which himself had dedicated [These were probably the spoils of the Ethiopians (2Ch_14:15; cf. 2Ch_15:11)], into [the Hebrew omits this word. Keil says that "house" is an accusative governed by "brought"], the house of the Lord, silver and gold, and vessels.

The Pulpit Commentary
And there was war between Asa and Baasha king of Israel all their days [This statement must be compared with 2Ch_14:1, 2Ch_14:6, from which we gather that during the first ten years of Asa's reign there cannot have been war, properly so called, between them. Indeed, it would seem from 2Ch_15:19, 2Ch_16:1, that it was not until the 36th year of Asa's reign that it first broke out. But these numbers have clearly not escaped corruption (see note there), as at the date last mentioned Baasha must have been dead. It is probable that war is to be taken here, as elsewhere (1Ki_14:30), in the sense of hostility, and in any case we have here another instance of the hyperbolical habit of the Eastern mind.]

The Pulpit Commentary
And Baasha, king of Israel, went up against Judah [This statement probably refers to the reconquest of the three cities which Abijah had taken from Jeroboam (2Ch_13:19), as Ramah could hardly have been rebuilt whilst Bethel remained in the hands of Judah], and built Ramah [Heb. the Ramah, i.e; "the elevation," or "high place." Now er Ram (= the height), in Benjamin (Jos_18:25; Jdg_19:18, Jdg_19:14), five miles distant from Jerusalem, near the frontier of the two territories, and also then, as now, on the great north road. It was the key, consequently, to both kingdoms. Hence the struggles to possess it, vers, 21, 22; 2Ch_16:1, etc.], that he might not suffer any to go out [Heb. not to give any going out, etc.] or come in to Asa, king of Judah. [The object of Baasha in fortifying this place is evident. It was not merely to have an advanced post as a menace to Jerusalem (Rawlinson), but primarily, by its command of the high road, to prevent his subjects from falling away to the kingdom of Judah, or even from going up to Jerusalem to worship; in fact, to isolate Judah and to blockade its capital. That there was a great defection to Ass at this time we know from 2Ch_15:9. This was an exodus which Baasha felt must be checked. Blunt has happily shown from 2Ch_16:6, etc; how the primary object must have been to "stop the alarming drainage of all that was virtuous out of their borders." Rawlinson sees in the fortification of this place "the first step towards a conquest of the southern kingdom." But as to this the text is silent, or rather it assigns an entirely different reason.]

The Pulpit Commentary
Then Asa took all the silver and the gold that were left [LXX. τὸ σὑρεθὲν, which Rawlinson thinks points to a corruption of our text. He says, "The Jewish treasuries should now have been tolerably full," because

(1) of the long peace (2Ch_14:1-6), and

(2) the "very much spoil" they had taken from the Ethiopians (ib; 1Ki_15:13). Compare 1Ki_15:15 above. But the historian has in mind the depletion of the treasury by Shishak (1Ki_14:26). It is true there was nothing "left" on that occasion, but the treasures since accumulated are referred to under this term. It may be the phrase is not strictly accurate, but the LXX. reading looks suspiciously like an emendation] in the treasures of the house of the Lord, and the treasures of the king's house, and delivered them into the hand of his servants: and king Asa sent them [cf. 2Ki_16:8. For this act of faithlessness he was reproved by Hanani the seer (2Ch_16:7): "O Asa, where was thy piety, while thou robbedst God to corrupt an infidel for the slaughter of the Israelites?" (Hall)] to Ben-hadad ["the son of the sun" (see note on 1Ki_11:23). Three kings of Damascus at least bore this name, viz; this king, his son (1Ki_20:1), and the son of Hazael (2 Kings . 24)], the son of Tabrimon [the name means, Good is Rimmon, as to which deity see note on 2Ki_5:18], the son of Hezion [by some identified with Rezin (1Ki_11:23), but on insufficient grounds] king of Syria, that dwelt at Damascus ["The centre of the Aramaean power west of the Euphrates" (Ewald)], saying,

The Pulpit Commentary
There is a league [Rawlinson would render, "Let there be a league… as there was," but the A.V. is equally good. Asa claims that a league does exist, and, in fact, has never been broken] between me and thee, and between my father and thy father [Syria would seem to have been the first of the possessions of Solomon to regain its independence (1Ki_11:24). Its friendship would naturally be sought by Judah, as a counterpoise, perhaps, to the alliance between Israel and Egypt (Ewald)]: behold, I have sent unto thee a present [elsewhere a bribe. Psa_15:5; Psa_26:10; 1Sa_8:3] of silver and gold; come and break [Heb. come, break now, עַל cohortative] thy league with Baasha king of Israel, that he may depart from me. [Heb. go up from upon me.]

The Pulpit Commentary
So [Heb. and] Ben-hadad hearkened unto king Asa, and sent the captains [or princes; same word as in 1Ki_22:31; cf. 1Ki_20:24] of the hosts which he had against the cities of Israel, and smote Ijon [now represented by Tell Dibbin, a mound near the north end of the Merj 'Ayun (which probably preserves the name), a "meadow of fountains," a few miles northwest of Daniel This hill would offer a commanding site for a stronghold, and traces are found there of a large and ancient city Now certainly identified with Tell el Kadi the "hill of the Judge" (which preserves the meaning of the name), near the main source of the Jordan. The Tell, apparently an extinct crater, is covered with ruins. Stanley, S. and P; p. 395-6. Thomson, "Land and Book," 1. p. 320. Van de Velde, if. p. 420. The situation is described as superb, and the country as extremely fertile. This is the last mention of the place in Scripture. Retribution has soon fallen on one of the centres of Jeroboam's schism], and Abel-beth-maachah [now known as Abil el Kamh All these towns are in the neighbourhood of Lake Huleh (Merom), and all being in the extreme north, bore the brunt of the invasion. The name Maachah is to be noticed in connection with 2Ch_16:2], and all Cinneroth [in Num_34:11; Deu_3:17, Cinnereth; in the New Testament, Gennesaret." "The expression 'all Cinneroth' is unusual, and may be compared with 'all Bithron,' probably like this, a district and not a town". It is the district on the western shore of the lake of Galilee, north of Tiberias, which gave its name to the adjoining sheet of water. A city Chinnereth, perhaps the capital of the district is mentioned Jos_19:1-51 :85], with [עַל not uncommonly has this meaning. Cf. Gen_32:12 (Hebrews), "the mother with the children;" Exo_35:22, "men with women."] all the land of Naphtali [Not only were the fortresses of Naphtali just mentioned smitten by the Syrians, but they laid waste all the surrounding district.]

The Pulpit Commentary
And it came to pasta, when Baaaha heard thereof, that he left off building of Ramah [He could not prosecute it when he had enemies on every side. He at once assumes the defensive], and dwelt in Tirzah. [1Ki_14:17. He retired to his capital It is not implied that he had entertained the idea of dwelling at Ramah.]

The Pulpit Commentary
Then king Asa made a proclamation [Heb. made all to hear] throughout all Judah; none was exempted [Heb. none free], and they took away [Heb. took up] the stones of Ramah, and the timber thereof, wherewith Baasha [It is noticeable that it is generally "king Asa," but never "king Baasha"] had bullded; and king Asa built with them Geba of Benjamin [Sometimes "the Geba," i.e; height; in Jos_18:24, Gaba; now Jeba, only 45' northeast of Ramah. This was the northern limit of the southern kingdom (2Ki_23:8). It occupied a striking position, standing on a rocky knoll on the south side of the great gorge of Michmash (now known as the Wady Suweinit), a "great crack or fissure in the country, with vertical precipices some 800 feet high". As Geba would command the pass, it is easy to understand why Asa fortified it, the more so as this defile "appears to have been more than once the meeting place between the Jews and their enemies" (Conder)], and Mizpah. [Heb. the Mizpah, i.e; watch tower (Gen_31:49). The name points to an eminence, but it is remarkable that while so many sites of minor importance have been recovered, this old gathering place of the tribes (Jdg_21:1; 1Sa_7:5; 1Sa_10:17-25), and the seat of Gedaliah's government (Jer_40:6), cannot be identified with certainty. It has been conjectured that it is now represented by the commanding eminence of Nebi Samwil,but Stanley and Grove argue in favour of Seopus, and "the survey has done little to throw light on this question". It is to be hoped that the "pit," or well, which Asa made (Jer_41:9), probably "to provide Mizpah with a plentiful supply of water in ease of a siege" (Ewald), may yet be brought to light.

The Pulpit Commentary
And the rest of all the acts of Asa, and all his might [see 2Ch_14:1-15; 2Ch_15:1-19.], and all that he did, and the cities which he built [during the peace in the earlier part of his reign (2Ch_14:5, 2Ch_14:6)], are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? Nevertheless [Heb. only. There was one exception to his otherwise happy and prosperous reign] in the time of his old age [see notes on 1Ki_1:1; 1Ki_11:4. "Old age" means here, as them, the end of life. Asa cannot well have been more than fifty. It was in the 39th year of his reign (2Ch_16:12) that this disease attacked him] he was diseased in his feet. [It is generally supposed that this disease was the gout. In the Chronicles (l.c.) he is reproached for seeking "not to the Lord but to the physicians." We must remember what the art of medicine at that day was like, and that the Jews regarded sickness and healing as alike the immediate acts of God.

The Pulpit Commentary
And Asa slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers ["in his own sepulchre which he had made for himself" (2Ch_16:14, which also notices "the bed filled with sweet odours," in which he was laid and the "very great burning" made for him)] in the city of David his father: and Jehoshaphat his son reigned in his stead.

THE REIGNS OF NADAB, BAASHA, ELAH, ZIMRI, AND OMRI, KINGS OF ISRAEL.—After bringing up the history of the kings of Judah, which has engaged his pen since 1Ki_14:21, to the date of the death of Asa, our author goes back some forty years to record the contemporary history of the kingdom of Israel, with which the rest of this book, the last thirteen verses alone excepted, is occupied. On the other hand, none of these reigns are even noticed by the chronicler, who only refers to the history of Israel, so far as it is inextricably connected with the object of his work; in other words, so far as is necessary to explain or illustrate the reigns of the kings of Judah.

The Pulpit Commentary
And Nadab [= liberal] the son of Jeroboam began to reign [Heb. reigned] over Israel in the second year of Asa king of Judah and reigned over Israel two years. [The reigns of these five kings of Israel are related with great brevity. It was not the object of the author to chronicle secular history—for this he refers us to "the books of the days"—he is only concerned with the events of their reigns in so far as they relate to the kingdom of God.]

The Pulpit Commentary
And he did evil in the sight of the Lord, and walked in the way of his father [Jeroboam begat all his sons, save one, "in his own likeness"], and in his sin wherewith he made Israel to sin. [I.e; not the rebellion, but the schism. All the successors of Jeroboam it is clear, either thought themselves compelled, by the exigencies of their position, to adhere to his ecclesiastical policy, or found themselves more and more entangled in its toils.]

The Pulpit Commentary
And Baasha the son of Ahijah [not the prophet of that name (1Ki_14:2), who was an Ephraimite, whereas this Ahijah was], of the house of Issachar [This fact is perhaps mentioned to distinguish the father of Baasha from the prophet. Or it may owe its insertion to the insignificance of this tribe (Gen_49:14, Gen_49:15) up to this date. This change of dynasty, unlike the last, was in no way connected with tribal jealousies. Baasha owed his elevation to his own abilities or to his unscrupulous daring], conspired [The word implies associates. There was a plot formed fur Nadab's assassination] against him: and Baasha smote him at Gibbethon [= eminence. In the tribe of Dan (Jos_19:44) and a Levitical city: one of the four assigned to the Levites in the territory of that tribe (ib; 1Ki_21:23). It has not been identified. Evidently it was on the border of Philistia. Some would connect it with the modern Mejdel, a little to the north of Ascalon. The reader will observe how large a number of the names of towns indicate their elevation. The cities of those days were set on a hill. It was dangerous to build in the plain], which belonged to the Philistines [Blunt suggests that it was because the place had been deserted by the Levites, in the general exodus to Judah, that the Philistines availed themselves of the opportunity to seize and fortify it. But the divided and consequently weakened state of the kingdom would of itself have encouraged them to throw off the yoke of Israel (Ewald)]; for Nadab and all Israel laid siege to Gibbethon.

The Pulpit Commentary
Even in the third year of Asa [We have here (as in 1Ki_16:8, 1Ki_16:23) a conspicuous instance of the Hebrew habit of counting parts of years as entire years. It is obvious that if Nadab succeeded to the throne in the second (1Ki_15:25) and died in the third year of Asa, he cannot have reigned two full years] king of Judah did Baasha slay him [As the assassination took place during the siege, it is extremely probable that Baasha, like Omri, was the captain of the host], and reigned in his stead. [Probably Nadab had showed himself quite unequal to the task of governing, of which reading the army was in that age a principal function (1Sa_8:20). It is just possible that in the occupation of Gibbethon by Philistines we have a proof of his feebleness and incapacity. Anyhow, when the strong hand of Jeroboam is removed, the fruits of the rebellion at once begin to appear. The contempt and defiance which Jeroboam had showed towards constituted authority are now manifested towards his successor. Baasha only takes a leaf out of Jeroboam's book (1Ki_11:26).]

The Pulpit Commentary
And it cams to pass, when he reigned, that he smote all the house of Jeroboam; he left not to Jeroboam any that breathed [Same expression in Jos_11:14; cf. Deu_20:16. Males and females alike were destroyed; see 1Ki_14:11], until he had destroyed him according unto the saying of the Lord, which he spake by his servant AhiJah the Shilonite [1Ki_14:10. It is not implied that it was because of this prophecy that Baasha exterminated the house of Jeroboam. It is probable that, so far from setting himself to fulfil it, he knew nothing about it, and, as he thought, merely took effectual measures for his own security. His seat could never be safe, so long as one of Jeroboam's house survived. Grotius aptly cites, with reference to these wholesale murders, the saying, ὃς πατέρα κτείνας υἱοὺς κατέλιπε]:

The Pulpit Commentary
Because of the sins of Jeroboam which he sinned, and which he made Israel to sin, by his provocation wherewith he provoked the Lord God of Israel to anger. [Cf. 1Ki_16:2, 1Ki_16:7, 1Ki_13:26. etc.]

The Pulpit Commentary
Now the rest of the acts of Nadab, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?

The Pulpit Commentary
And there was war between Asa and Baasha king of Israel all their days. [Verbatim as 1Ki_15:16, where see note. Several commentators suggest that this latter statement was copied from the chronicles of Israel, and that of 1Ki_15:16 from those of Judah. It is held by others, however, that for Baasha we should here read Nadab, and in favour of this view is the fact that the reign of Nadab is still under consideration, the history of Baasha only beginning with the following verse.]

The Pulpit Commentary
In the third year of Asa king of Judah began Baasha the son of Ahijah to reign [Practically a repetition of 1Ki_15:28. These iterations are thoroughly in accord with Eastern usage (cf. 1Ki_15:26, 1Ki_15:30, 1Ki_15:34; 1Ki_16:1, 1Ki_16:7, etc.)] over all Israel in Tirzah, twenty and four years.

The Pulpit Commentary
And he did evil in the sight of the Lord, and he walked in the way of Jeroboam, and in his sin wherewith he made Israel to sin.

(1Ki 15:26) He did what the LORD considered evil, living as his father did, leading Israel into the same sins.

(1Ki 15:27) Then Baasha, son of Ahijah from the tribe of Issachar, plotted against Nadab. Baasha assassinated him in the Philistine city of Gibbethon while Nadab and the Israelite forces were attacking it.

(1Ki 15:28) The assassination happened in Asa's third year as king of Judah. Baasha succeeded Nadab as king of Israel.

(1Ki 15:29) As soon as he was king, he killed everyone else in Jeroboam's family. He did not spare a soul, as the LORD had spoken through his servant Ahijah from Shiloh.

(1Ki 15:30) This was because of Jeroboam's sins and the sins which he led Israel to commit. Those sins made the LORD God of Israel furious.

(1Ki 15:31) Isn't everything else about Nadab-everything he did-written in the official records of the kings of Israel?

(1Ki 15:32) There was war between Asa and Baasha as long as they lived.

(1Ki 15:33) In Asa's third year as king of Judah, Baasha, son of Ahijah, began to rule Israel in Tirzah. He ruled for 24 years.

(1Ki 15:34) He did what the LORD considered evil. He lived like Jeroboam and led Israel into committing the same sins.

Unknown

1Kings 16

(1Ki 16:1) The LORD spoke his word to Jehu, Hanani's son, against Baasha.

(Pulpit Commentary)