Aggada -- Translations into English; Bible. Old Testament -- Legends; Jewish legends; Midrash -- Translations into English
The departure of the Danites relieved Judah from the apprehended
invasion by Jeroboam, but danger arose from another quarter. Shishak,
(13) the ruler of Egypt, who was the father-in-law of Solomon, came to
Jerusalem and demanded his daughter's jointure. He carried off the
throne of Solomon, (14) and also the treasure which the Israelites had
taken from the Egyptians at the time of the exodus. So the Egyptian
money returned to its source. (15)
THE TWO ABIJAHS
Jeroboam did not entirely forego his plan of a campaign against Judah,
but it was not executed until Abijah had succeeded his father Rehoboam
on the throne of Jerusalem. The Judean king was victorious. However, he
could not long enjoy the fruits of his victory. Shortly after occurred
his death, brought on by his own crimes. In his war against Jeroboam he
had indulged in excessive cruelty; he ordered the corpses of the enemy
to be mutilated, and permitted them to be buried only after
putrefaction had set in. Such savagery was all the more execrable as it
prevented many widows from entering into a second marriage. Mutilating
the corpses had made identification impossible, and so it was left
doubtful whether their husbands were among the dead.
Moreover, Abijah used most disrespectful language about the prophet
Abijah the Shilonite; he called him a "son of Belial" in his address to
the people on Mount Zemaraim. That in itself merited severe punishment.
Finally, his zeal for true worship of God, which Abijah had urged as
the reason of the war between himself and Jeroboam, cooled quickly.
When he obtained possession of Beth-el, he failed to do away with the
golden calves. (16)
In this respect his namesake, the Israelitish king Abijah, the son of
Jeroboam, was by far his superior. By removing the guards stationed at
the frontier, he bade defiance to the command of his father, who had
decreed the death penalty for pilgrimages to Jerusalem. More than this,
he himself ventured to go up to Jerusalem in fulfilment of his
religious duty. (17)
ASA
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account