1-Kings - 14:17



17 Jeroboam's wife arose, and departed, and came to Tirzah. As she came to the threshold of the house, the child died.

Verse In-Depth

Explanation and meaning of 1-Kings 14:17.

Differing Translations

Compare verses for better understanding.
And Jeroboam's wife arose, and departed, and came to Tirzah: and when she came to the threshold of the door, the child died;
And the wife of Jeroboam arose, and departed, and came to Thersa: and when she was coming in to the threshold of the house, the child died;
And Jeroboam's wife arose, and departed, and came to Tirzah: and when she came to the threshhold of the door, the child died;
And the wife of Jeroboam riseth, and goeth, and cometh to Tirzah; she hath come in to the threshold of the house, and the youth dieth;
Then Jeroboam's wife got up and went away and came to Tirzah; and when she came to the doorway of the house, death came to the child.
And so, the wife of Jeroboam rose up, and she went away. And she arrived at Tirzah. And as she was entering the threshold of the house, the boy died.

*Minor differences ignored. Grouped by changes, with first version listed as example.


Historical Commentaries

Scholarly Analysis and Interpretation.

Jeroboam had by this time removed from Shechem, and established a new capital in Tirzah, one of the old Canaanite towns Joshua 12:24 - a town of great reputation for beauty, counted in that respect on a par with Jerusalem Song 6:4. Tirzah is perhaps to be identified with "Telluzah," a place in the mountains about 9 miles distant from Shechem (Nablous) (or with Teiasir - Conder). It may have been the palatial residence of the kings rather than the actual capital of the country. It remained the capital until Omri built Samaria 1-Kings 16:23-24. Toward the close of the kingdom it appears again as the city of Menahem, who murdered Shallum and succeeded him 2-Kings 15:14.
The threshold of the door - literally," the threshold of the house." Compare the prophecy 1-Kings 14:12. The child actually died as she crossed the threshold of the palace. Probably the palace, like that of Sargon at Khorsabad, lay at the outer edge of the town.

And Jeroboam's wife arose, and departed, Upon this speech of the prophet's to her:
and came to Tirzah; where Jeroboam now had his court, and where their son now was; it was a royal city in the time of the Canaanites, and is commonly placed in the tribe of Manasseh, and was a very pleasant one, as its name signifies, to which there is an allusion, Song 6:4; see Gill on Joshua 12:24,
and when she came to the threshold of the door, the child died: just as she was about to step over the threshold of the royal palace, which seems to have been at the entering of the city of Tirzah, 1-Kings 14:12.

Tirzah--a place of pre-eminent beauty (Song 6:4), three hours' travelling east of Samaria, chosen when Israel became a separate kingdom, by the first monarch, and used during three short reigns as a residence of the royal house. The fertile plains and wooded hills in that part of the territory of Ephraim gave an opening to the formation of parks and pleasure-grounds similar to those which were the "paradises" of Assyrian and Persian monarchs [STANLEY]. Its site is occupied by the large village of Taltise [ROBINSON]. As soon as the queen reached the gate of the palace, she received the intelligence that her son was dying, according to the prophet's prediction [1-Kings 14:12].

Tirzah - An ancient and royal city, in a pleasant place, where the kings of Israel had a palace, whither Jeroboam was now removed from Shechem, either for his pleasure, or for his son's recovery, by the healthfulness of the place. The threshold - Of the king's house, which probably was upon, or by the wall of the city, and near the gate.

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