1 Kings 14:1 kjv
At that time Abijah the son of Jeroboam fell sick.
1 Kings 14:1 nkjv
At that time Abijah the son of Jeroboam became sick.
1 Kings 14:1 niv
At that time Abijah son of Jeroboam became ill,
1 Kings 14:1 esv
At that time Abijah the son of Jeroboam fell sick.
1 Kings 14:1 nlt
At that time Jeroboam's son Abijah became very sick.
1 Kings 14 1 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| 1 Ki 12:28-30 | The king made two calves of gold... and it became a sin. | Jeroboam's primary act of apostasy. |
| 1 Ki 13:1-5 | A man of God cried against the altar... the altar split. | Prior prophetic judgment on Jeroboam's cult. |
| 1 Ki 14:12 | The Lord has spoken evil against the house of Jeroboam. | Explicit confirmation of this judgment. |
| 1 Ki 15:29-30 | Baasha killed all the house of Jeroboam... according to Lord's word. | Fulfillment of the total judgment on Jeroboam's house. |
| Exod 34:7 | ...punishing the iniquity of the fathers on the children. | Principle of generational consequences for sin. |
| Deut 5:9 | ...visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to third. | Reinforces the principle of sin's effects. |
| Deut 32:39 | I, I am He... I wound and I heal; I kill and I make alive. | Yahweh's absolute sovereignty over life and death. |
| 1 Sam 2:6 | The Lord kills and makes alive; He brings down to Sheol. | God's power over sickness, life, and death. |
| 2 Ki 1:2-4 | Ahaziah fell... "Go, inquire of Baal-Zebub." | Example of a king seeking false gods in illness. |
| 2 Ki 8:7-8 | Ben-Hadad of Aram was sick... "Go, inquire of the Lord by Elisha." | Foreign king seeking Yahweh's true prophet. |
| Isa 38:1 | In those days Hezekiah became sick and was at the point of death. | Example of a king's severe illness and prophecy. |
| Psa 107:17-20 | Some became fools... healed them from their destructions. | Sickness linked to sin, cured by God's word. |
| Pro 1:31 | ...they shall eat the fruit of their own way. | Consequences directly stemming from one's choices. |
| Rom 6:23 | For the wages of sin is death... | Ultimate spiritual consequence of rebellion. |
| Hos 8:4 | They made kings... They made for themselves molten images. | God's displeasure over Israel's self-directed rule and idolatry. |
| Amos 3:6 | ...does disaster strike a city unless the Lord has done it? | God's active involvement in judgment and calamity. |
| Isa 46:10 | Declaring the end from the beginning... My counsel shall stand. | God's divine foreknowledge and ultimate control. |
| Ezek 18:20 | The soul who sins shall die... a son will not bear the guilt. | Clarifies judgment is on Jeroboam's house, not Abijah's personal sin. |
| Job 14:1-2 | Man who is born of a woman is few of days and full of trouble. | The general frailty and brevity of human life. |
| Psa 90:10 | The days of our years are threescore years and ten. | Reflections on the transient nature of life. |
| 1 Chr 10:13-14 | So Saul died for his unfaithfulness... did not inquire of the Lord. | Illustrates fate of a king who failed to seek God. |
| Mat 18:7 | Woe to the world for temptations to sin!... woe to the one by whom. | Severity of causing others to stumble into sin. |
| 2 Ki 24:3 | Surely at the command of the Lord this came upon Judah. | Divine sovereignty over nations' calamities. |
1 Kings 14 verses
1 Kings 14 1 Meaning
1 Kings 14:1 initiates the direct divine judgment upon King Jeroboam and his dynasty, prophesied earlier, through a deeply personal tragedy: the severe illness of his son, Abijah. This event marks a critical turning point where Jeroboam, despite his established idolatry, paradoxically turns to the legitimate prophet of Yahweh for counsel regarding his son's life, highlighting the emptiness of his self-made religion. The verse sets the stage for a pronouncement of total destruction upon Jeroboam's house due to his persistent apostasy and leading Israel into sin.
1 Kings 14 1 Context
1 Kings 14:1 occurs chronologically after the momentous division of the united kingdom into Judah (Rehoboam) and Israel (Jeroboam) and, critically, after Jeroboam's establishment of rival worship centers with golden calves in Bethel and Dan to prevent his people from returning to Jerusalem for worship (1 Ki 12). This act constituted profound apostasy and defiance against Yahweh. Chapter 13 then details a direct prophetic confrontation at Bethel, where a man of God from Judah curses Jeroboam's altar and gives a sign. The illness of Abijah is therefore not an isolated incident but the direct unfolding of divine judgment promised or implied earlier, demonstrating Yahweh's active involvement in the affairs of Israel and His response to blatant rebellion.
1 Kings 14 1 Word analysis
- At that time:
בָּעֵת הַהִיא(ba-'et ha-hi). This temporal phrase connects Abijah's illness directly to the immediate period following Jeroboam's idolatry and defiance of Yahweh as detailed in 1 Kings 12 and 13. It signals that this event is not random but part of a divine sequence of events, highlighting a direct cause-and-effect relationship between Jeroboam's apostasy and the impending judgment. - Abijah:
אֲבִיָּה(’Avîyyah). This Hebrew name translates to "My father is Yahweh" or "Yahweh is my father." The irony is significant given his father Jeroboam's wholesale rejection of Yahweh in favor of golden calves. The name contrasts sharply with the spiritual reality of Jeroboam's household and the nation he leads. Later in the chapter, this same Abijah is revealed to be the one "good" member in his wicked family (1 Ki 14:13). - the son of Jeroboam: This lineage firmly identifies the individual suffering. It also emphasizes that the impending judgment is specifically targeting Jeroboam's dynasty, making his personal pain the channel through which divine judgment on his house begins to unfold. Jeroboam is presented as the primary agent of Israel's sin, and his familial line will pay a bitter price.
- fell sick:
חָלָה(ḥālāh). This verb signifies a serious, possibly life-threatening illness. It is not presented as a natural occurrence but as a divine affliction, setting the stage for Jeroboam's desperate, yet duplicitous, attempt to consult the true prophet of Yahweh. Sickness here is a catalyst, forcing a direct confrontation between Jeroboam and God's sovereign will, highlighting the futility of his alternative worship system in true crisis.
1 Kings 14 1 Bonus section
- The strategic importance of a king's son falling ill is heightened because an heir's illness jeopardizes the stability and continuity of the entire dynasty. For Jeroboam, who had just established a new kingdom and dynasty, this crisis was profoundly threatening.
- Jeroboam's decision to send his wife (in disguise) to Ahijah instead of going himself or sending his court officials indicates his desire to maintain a facade of religious independence while secretly seeking God's power. It highlights the deeply deceptive nature of his apostasy.
- The fact that Ahijah was the prophet who initially announced Jeroboam's ascension to the throne (1 Ki 11:29-39) makes Jeroboam's consultation of him in this crisis even more significant; it implicitly acknowledges Ahijah's proven divine authority, despite Jeroboam's rebellion against the very God Ahijah served.
1 Kings 14 1 Commentary
1 Kings 14:1 serves as the painful initiation of divine judgment on Jeroboam, a judgment foreshadowed and provoked by his leading Israel into idolatry. The affliction of his beloved son, Abijah, brings the consequences of Jeroboam's sin to his own threshold, making the cost deeply personal. The subsequent narrative, sparked by this sickness, exposes Jeroboam's hypocrisy: despite establishing his own worship system, he still feels compelled to seek the true God's prophet when confronted with a genuine, life-threatening crisis that his false gods cannot resolve. This highlights that man-made religion provides no comfort or power in real adversity, serving only as a means to avoid God rather than genuinely approach Him.