1 Kings 14:4 kjv
And Jeroboam's wife did so, and arose, and went to Shiloh, and came to the house of Ahijah. But Ahijah could not see; for his eyes were set by reason of his age.
1 Kings 14:4 nkjv
And Jeroboam's wife did so; she arose and went to Shiloh, and came to the house of Ahijah. But Ahijah could not see, for his eyes were glazed by reason of his age.
1 Kings 14:4 niv
So Jeroboam's wife did what he said and went to Ahijah's house in Shiloh. Now Ahijah could not see; his sight was gone because of his age.
1 Kings 14:4 esv
Jeroboam's wife did so. She arose and went to Shiloh and came to the house of Ahijah. Now Ahijah could not see, for his eyes were dim because of his age.
1 Kings 14:4 nlt
So Jeroboam's wife went to Ahijah's home at Shiloh. He was an old man now and could no longer see.
1 Kings 14 4 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Gen 27:1 | Now it came to pass, when Isaac was old and his eyes were dim... | Isaac's age-related vision impairment. |
| 1 Sam 4:15 | Now Eli was ninety-eight years old and his eyes were dim, so that he could not see. | Eli's similar old-age vision loss. |
| Deut 34:7 | Moses was a hundred and twenty years old when he died, yet his eyes were not dim, nor his natural vigor abated. | Contrast: Moses' sight divinely preserved despite age. |
| Isa 6:10 | Make the heart of this people dull, and their ears heavy, and blind their eyes... | Spiritual blindness; contrasts Ahijah's physical state. |
| Matt 13:13 | Therefore I speak to them in parables: because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear... | People with physical sight lack spiritual understanding. |
| Jn 9:39 | And Jesus said, “For judgment I came into this world, that those who do not see may see, and those who see may become blind.” | Spiritual seeing versus spiritual blindness. |
| 2 Cor 4:4 | In whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel... | Satan causes spiritual blindness. |
| Psa 139:1-4 | O Lord, you have searched me and known me! ...You know my sitting down and my rising up; you understand my thought afar off... | God's omniscience; knowing identity before physical arrival. |
| Jer 1:5 | “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you..." | God knows individuals intimately. |
| Acts 15:18 | “Known to God from eternity are all His works.” | God's foreknowledge, His inability to be surprised. |
| 1 Kgs 11:29-39 | It came about at that time, when Jeroboam went out of Jerusalem, that the prophet Ahijah the Shilonite found him... and Ahijah tore it into twelve pieces... | Ahijah's previous significant prophecy to Jeroboam. |
| 1 Kgs 14:2-3 | And Jeroboam said to his wife, "Please arise and disguise yourself, that they may not know that you are Jeroboam’s wife..." | Immediate context: Jeroboam's plan to deceive Ahijah. |
| 1 Kgs 14:5 | But the Lord had said to Ahijah, “Behold, the wife of Jeroboam is coming to inquire of you... and I will tell you what you shall say.” | God directly reveals the disguise to Ahijah. |
| Isa 42:7 | To open blind eyes, To bring out prisoners from the dungeon and those who dwell in darkness from the prison. | Metaphorical or literal restoration of sight by God. |
| Mk 8:18 | "Having eyes, do you not see? And having ears, do you not hear?" | Questioning lack of spiritual perception. |
| 2 Cor 12:9 | And He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” | God uses and empowers individuals despite limitations. |
| Heb 11:6 | And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. | Faith is essential for spiritual "seeing." |
| Amos 3:7 | Surely the Lord God does nothing, unless He reveals His secret counsel to His servants the prophets. | Prophets as God's means of revelation. |
| 1 Cor 1:27 | But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong. | God uses the "weak" (like a blind prophet) for His purposes. |
| Eph 1:18 | I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling... | The spiritual "eyes of the heart" being enlightened. |
| Gen 48:10 | Now the eyes of Israel were dim from age, so that he could not see; and he brought them near him, and he kissed them and embraced them. | Jacob also experienced age-related visual impairment. |
| Jer 23:24 | "Can a man hide himself in secret places so that I shall not see him?” declares the Lord. “Do I not fill heaven and earth?” declares the Lord. | God's omnipresence; futile to hide from Him. |
| Prov 20:12 | The hearing ear and the seeing eye, The Lord has made both of them. | God as the creator and source of all perception. |
1 Kings 14 verses
1 Kings 14 4 Meaning
This verse describes the physical condition of the prophet Ahijah, noting that his eyesight had severely deteriorated or become completely blind due to his advanced age. This detail is significant as it provides the practical reason why Jeroboam believed his wife could successfully disguise herself and not be recognized by the prophet, setting the scene for God to explicitly reveal her identity and deliver a harsh prophecy despite Ahijah's physical limitation.
1 Kings 14 4 Context
First Kings chapter 14 opens with a crisis in Jeroboam's kingdom: his son, Abijah, falls severely ill. Jeroboam, despite leading his nation into apostasy by establishing idol worship, still acknowledged the prophetic authority of Ahijah the Shilonite, who had initially prophesied his kingship (1 Kgs 11:29-39). Jeroboam's desperate act of sending his wife in disguise to consult the prophet reveals his conflicted spiritual state: he seeks divine guidance but attempts to manipulate the process and conceal his true identity. This immediate context is critical as verse 4 details Ahijah's physical blindness, setting the expectation that the disguise might work. The ensuing narrative will powerfully demonstrate God's foreknowledge and sovereign revelation, overriding any human attempts at deception.
1 Kings 14 4 Word analysis
- But Ahijah: The particle "But" introduces an explanatory clause, directly addressing why Jeroboam's deception was attempted. "Ahijah" (אֲחִיָּה, ʾĂḥiyyâ), meaning "My brother is Yah," refers to the prophet from Shiloh, God's chosen messenger who delivered the kingdom prophecy to Jeroboam.
- could not see; (לֹא יָכֹל לִרְאוֹת, lōʾ yākōl lirʾōṯ): This straightforward phrase states Ahijah's inability to physically perceive. It signifies a complete lack of sight, establishing his practical incapacitation from a human perspective.
- for his eyes were set (כִּי קָמָה עֵינָיו, kî qāmâ ʿênāyw): "For" introduces the reason for his blindness. The key verb is "were set" (קָמָה, qāmâ), derived from the root qum (קוּם), meaning "to stand," "arise," or "be established/fixed." Here, it vividly portrays a condition where Ahijah's eyes were rigid, unyielding, or completely unresponsive, signifying profound and permanent blindness. Unlike terms for "dim" (like kahah for Isaac or Eli), qam suggests a severe physical degeneration or perhaps even immobility of the eye itself.
- by reason of his age. (מִשּׂוֹמָה זִקְנָתוֹ, miśśōmāh ziqnāṯōw): This phrase unequivocally attributes his blindness to the natural process of advanced old age (ziqnāh, זִקְנָה). It emphasizes that his condition was a natural human frailty, not a divinely inflicted judgment, making the subsequent divine revelation even more striking.
Words-group by words-group analysis:
- "But Ahijah could not see": This initial clause immediately establishes a physical limitation in the prophet. It provides the very premise upon which Jeroboam's scheme to send his wife in disguise was based, creating dramatic tension between human fallibility and divine omniscience.
- "for his eyes were set by reason of his age": This phrase elaborates on the precise nature and cause of Ahijah's blindness. The term "were set" suggests not mere dimness but a rigidity or fixation of the eyes due to extreme age, implying a severe, unalterable state. This detail reinforces the natural, rather than mystical, origin of his impairment. This physical reality underscores a profound spiritual truth: God's insight is independent of His human messenger's physical senses. It powerfully refutes any notion that the effectiveness of divine communication depends on human physical capacity or mystical abilities; rather, it emphasizes that God can speak clearly through anyone He chooses, even those with significant human weaknesses. This setup inherently poses a polemic against pagan concepts where oracles might rely on heightened or altered physical states; here, God's revelation operates in spite of the natural and ordinary frailty of His chosen vessel.
1 Kings 14 4 Bonus section
The chosen Hebrew verb for "were set" (קָמָה, qāmâ) for Ahijah's eyes is more forceful than those used for Isaac (Gen 27:1) or Eli (1 Sam 4:15), whose eyes merely "grew dim" (כָּהָה, kāhāh). This implies Ahijah's blindness was particularly severe, a rigid and irreversible state, perhaps indicating cataracts or complete functional loss of the eyes due to age. This precise linguistic choice amplifies the irony and divine power that is about to unfold. It emphasizes that Ahijah was not simply a little bit impaired, but entirely incapable of visual recognition, thus magnifying the clarity of God's revelation that immediately pierces through Jeroboam's carefully crafted deception. The king’s physical sight leads to spiritual blindness and futile attempts at concealment, while the prophet’s physical blindness paradoxically enables him to spiritually "see" through divine enablement.
1 Kings 14 4 Commentary
1 Kings 14:4 is a succinct but vital verse, portraying the prophet Ahijah as an extremely old man whose physical eyes have completely failed. This detail is not a trivial observation but serves as crucial narrative exposition, immediately validating Jeroboam's flawed assumption that a disguised messenger would escape recognition from a blind prophet. However, the verse also subtly prefigures God's imminent intervention. The contrast between Ahijah's physical blindness and his acute spiritual insight, which God immediately grants him in the subsequent verses, is a profound theological statement. It underscores that God's truth is not dependent on human sight or other physical capabilities, but solely on His sovereign will and revelation. Ahijah, in his physical vulnerability, becomes a clear demonstration of how God chooses weak and ordinary vessels to display His extraordinary power and unerring knowledge, proving that no human scheme, even one based on deception, can elude the all-seeing God.