1 Kings 12 — Hebrew and Greek compared
Disparate in this chapter: MT 12:20, MT 12:21
Each card keeps the independently rendered source readings above their shared comparison and reception notes. The badge records the source’s governing classification; disparate readings are marked in red. Each reading retains its original reference.
1 Kings 12
Service refused and a people divided
Editorial Christian reading: Rehoboam’s refusal to lighten the burden exposes the moral stakes of rule; the rupture is not turned into a model for Christian leadership.
12:1–15 | The petition and the two counsels
Verse MT 12:1 Same
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
MT 12:1
Rehoboam went to Shechem, because all Israel had come to Shechem to make him king.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
LXX 12:1
King Rehoboam went to Shechem, because all Israel were coming to Shechem to make him king.
Classification & Notes
Same
Text: The destination, gathering, and purpose agree. Greek gives the king’s title and uses a narrative present for his journey; ordinary English past tense preserves the event sequence.
Verse MT 12:2 Divergent
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
MT 12:2
When Jeroboam son of Nebat heard—he was still in Egypt, where he had fled from King Solomon’s presence, and Jeroboam remained in Egypt—
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
No LXX counterpart
[No Greek verse 2; compare the return notice at 11:43.]
Classification & Notes
Divergent
Text: Hebrew says Jeroboam remained in Egypt and continues the sentence with the summons in verse 3. Its verb is not silently changed to returned. Greek had already included a return to Sarira at the preceding chapter’s end.
Verse MT 12:3 Divergent
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
MT 12:3
they sent and called him. Jeroboam and all Israel’s assembly came and spoke to Rehoboam, saying,
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
LXX 12:3
the people spoke to King Rehoboam, saying,
Classification & Notes
Divergent
Text: Hebrew includes the summons and names Jeroboam with the assembly; Greek has the people’s address without that arrival. Hebrew follows the traditional singular read verb before the compound subject [Q12].
Verse MT 12:4 Different
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
MT 12:4
“Your father made our yoke harsh. Now lighten your father’s harsh service and his heavy yoke, which he placed on us, and we will serve you.”
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
LXX 12:4
“Your father made our collar heavy. Now lighten your father’s harsh servitude and his heavy collar, which he placed on us, and we will serve you.”
Classification & Notes
Different
Text: Hebrew uses the yoke image, Greek a restraining collar. The labor burden and conditional offer to serve remain in both; servitude reflects Greek douleia without inventing a uniform legal status for every speaker.
Verse MT 12:5 Same
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
MT 12:5
He said to them, “Go away for three days, and return to me.” The people went away.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
LXX 12:5
He said to them, “Go away until three days have passed, and return to me.” They went away.
Classification & Notes
Same
Text: The waiting period, return instruction, and departure agree. Neither wording requires a fourth-day meeting; verse 12 specifies the third day.
Verse MT 12:6 Different
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
MT 12:6
King Rehoboam consulted the elders who had stood before Solomon his father while he lived, saying, “How do you advise answering this people?”
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
LXX 12:6
The king instructed the elders who had stood before Solomon his father while he was still alive, saying, “How do you advise me, so that I may answer this people?”
Classification & Notes
Different
Text: Hebrew directly says consulted and names Rehoboam; Greek uses a verb of instruction before the request for counsel. Both identify the advisers by their service before Solomon.
Verse MT 12:7 Different
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
MT 12:7
They said to him, “If today you become this people’s servant, serve them, answer them, and speak good words to them, they will be your servants always.”
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
LXX 12:7
They said to him, “If today you become this people’s servant, serve them, and speak good words to them, they will be your servants always.”
Classification & Notes
Different
Text: Greek lacks the separate answer-them clause. Hebrew follows the traditional plural read form they said [Q12]. Servant preserves the reciprocal royal-service language rather than implying that the advice makes the king a purchased slave.
Verse MT 12:8 Same
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
MT 12:8
He abandoned the elders’ counsel which they had given him and consulted the young men who had grown up with him and stood before him.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
LXX 12:8
He abandoned the elders’ counsel which they had given him and consulted the young men who had been brought up with him and stood before him.
Classification & Notes
Same
Text: The rejected counsel and the alternative advisers agree. Young men is relational narrative language; it does not settle the different royal ages supplied elsewhere.
Verse MT 12:9 Different
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
MT 12:9
He said to them, “What do you advise, so that we may answer this people who said to me, ‘Lighten the yoke your father placed on us’?”
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
LXX 12:9
He said to them, “What do you advise, and what shall I answer this people who said to me, ‘Lighten the collar your father placed on us’?”
Classification & Notes
Different
Text: Hebrew has we may answer, Greek I shall answer with a repeated what. Yoke and collar continue the different restraint images.
Verse MT 12:10 Different
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
MT 12:10
The young men who had grown up with him said to him, “Thus say to this people who told you, ‘Your father made our yoke heavy; lighten it for us.’ Thus speak to them: ‘My little finger is thicker than my father’s loins.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
LXX 12:10
The young men who had been brought up with him and stood before him said, “Thus speak to this people who told you, ‘Your father made our collar heavy; now lighten it for us.’ Thus speak to them: ‘My little part is thicker than my father’s loins.
Classification & Notes
Different
Text: Greek repeats that the young men stood before him. Hebrew’s my little one is traditionally understood as little finger, supplied here; Greek has the abstract smallness, rendered little part provisionally. Neither text explicitly names a finger. The boast’s anatomical force remains open rather than being reduced to a numerical claim of strength.
Verse MT 12:11 Different
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
MT 12:11
Now my father loaded you with a heavy yoke, but I will add to your yoke. My father disciplined you with whips, but I will discipline you with scorpions.’”
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
LXX 12:11
Now my father burdened you with a heavy collar, but I will add to your collar. My father disciplined you with whips, but I will discipline you with scorpions.’”
Classification & Notes
Different
Text: The threatened escalation agrees, with Hebrew yoke and Greek collar. Scorpions preserves the image; a more severe kind of scourge is possible, but the verse does not describe its construction.
Verse MT 12:12 Different
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
MT 12:12
Jeroboam and all the people came to Rehoboam on the third day, as the king had said, “Return to me on the third day.”
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
LXX 12:12
All Israel came to King Rehoboam on the third day, as the king had told them, “Return to me on the third day.”
Classification & Notes
Different
Text: Hebrew expressly includes Jeroboam; Greek has all Israel and the king’s title. Both retain the third-day fulfillment of the summons.
Verse MT 12:13 Same
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
MT 12:13
The king answered the people harshly and abandoned the elders’ counsel which they had given him.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
LXX 12:13
The king answered the people harshly, and Rehoboam abandoned the elders’ counsel which they had given him.
Classification & Notes
Same
Text: The harsh answer and rejection agree. Greek repeats Rehoboam’s name without introducing another agent.
Verse MT 12:14 Different
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
MT 12:14
He spoke to them according to the young men’s counsel: “My father made your yoke heavy, but I will add to your yoke. My father disciplined you with whips, but I will discipline you with scorpions.”
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
LXX 12:14
He spoke to them according to the young men’s counsel: “My father made your collar heavy, but I will add to your collar. My father disciplined you with whips, but I will discipline you with scorpions.”
Classification & Notes
Different
Text: The king adopts the threatened escalation. The only governing difference here is the recurring yoke and collar image; the scorpion wording is retained in both.
Verse MT 12:15 Different
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
MT 12:15
The king did not listen to the people, for the turn of events came from YHWH, to establish His word which YHWH had spoken through Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam son of Nebat.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
LXX 12:15
The king did not listen to the people, for the turn of events came from the Lord, to establish His word which He had spoken through Ahijah the Shilonite concerning Jeroboam son of Nebat.
Classification & Notes
Different
Text: Hebrew has a word spoken to Jeroboam; Greek says concerning Jeroboam. Hebrew repeats YHWH’s name. Both attribute the turn of events to God while preserving the preceding human counsel and decision.
12:16–24 | The revolt and the word that stops war
Verse MT 12:16 Different
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
MT 12:16
All Israel saw that the king had not listened to them. The people answered the king, “What share have we in David? We have no inheritance in Jesse’s son. To your tents, Israel! Now see to your own house, David!” Israel went to their tents.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
LXX 12:16
All Israel saw that the king had not listened to them. The people answered the king, “What share have we in David? We have no inheritance in Jesse’s son. Run away to your tents, Israel! Now shepherd your own house, David!” Israel went to their tents.
Classification & Notes
Different
Text: Greek adds run away and uses shepherd where Hebrew says see to. The corporate address to David’s house and the withdrawal remain explicit in both. The slogan recalls 2 Samuel 20:1 without importing that earlier rebellion’s participants.
Verse MT 12:17 Divergent
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
MT 12:17
But Rehoboam reigned over the sons of Israel who lived in Judah’s cities.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
No LXX counterpart
[No Greek verse 17.]
Classification & Notes
Divergent
Text: The Hebrew territorial qualification remains here. Related Greek notices about Judah and Benjamin occur later, but no substitute verse is supplied.
Verse MT 12:18 Different
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
MT 12:18
King Rehoboam sent Adoram, who supervised the labor levy. All Israel stoned him, and he died. King Rehoboam made haste to get into his chariot and flee to Jerusalem.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
LXX 12:18
The king sent Adoniram, who supervised the tribute. All Israel stoned him with stones, and he died. King Rehoboam managed to go up and flee to Jerusalem.
Classification & Notes
Different
Text: The official is Adoram in Hebrew and Adoniram in Greek. Greek phoros can denote a levy, including labor in context; Hebrew explicitly has the levy term mas. Hebrew names the escape chariot, which Greek lacks in this notice. The killing remains explicit without an invented negotiation speech.
Verse MT 12:19 Similar
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
MT 12:19
Israel rebelled against David’s house, as it remains to this day.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
LXX 12:19
Israel rejected David’s house, as it remains to this day.
Classification & Notes
Similar
Text: Rebelled and rejected reflect the respective verbs. The narrator’s continuing-state formula agrees.
Verse MT 12:20 Disparate
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
MT 12:20
When all Israel heard that Jeroboam had returned, they sent and called him to the congregation and made him king over all Israel. None followed David’s house except the tribe of Judah alone.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
LXX 12:20
When all Israel heard that Jeroboam had returned from Egypt, they sent and called him to the assembly and made him king over Israel. None followed David’s house except Judah’s scepter and Benjamin alone.
Classification & Notes
Disparate
Text: Greek explicitly includes Benjamin among the remaining followers, while Hebrew says Judah alone. Greek adds from Egypt and lacks the second all before Israel. Scepter retains the Greek image for tribal rule; the different retained groups are not harmonized with verse 21.
Verse MT 12:21 Disparate
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
MT 12:21
Rehoboam came to Jerusalem and assembled all Judah’s house and the tribe of Benjamin: a hundred eighty thousand chosen warriors, to fight Israel’s house and restore the kingship to Rehoboam son of Solomon.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
LXX 12:21
Rehoboam entered Jerusalem and summoned Judah’s assembly and Benjamin’s scepter: a hundred twenty thousand young warriors, to fight Israel’s house and restore the kingdom to Rehoboam son of Solomon.
Classification & Notes
Disparate
Text: The mobilization totals differ, 180,000 and 120,000. Hebrew chosen warriors contrasts with Greek young warriors. Hebrew follows the traditional singular read verb for Rehoboam’s arrival [Q12]. Both state the intended restoration and opponents.
Verse MT 12:22 Different
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
MT 12:22
The word of God came to Shemaiah, the man of God, saying,
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
LXX 12:22
The word of the Lord came to Shemaiah, the man of God, saying,
Classification & Notes
Different
Text: The messenger and introduction agree; Hebrew has word of God, Greek word of the Lord. The divine titles follow each source.
Verse MT 12:23 Same
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
MT 12:23
“Say to Rehoboam son of Solomon, king of Judah, to all Judah’s house and Benjamin, and to the rest of the people:
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
LXX 12:23
“Say to Rehoboam son of Solomon, king of Judah, to all Judah’s house and Benjamin, and to the rest of the people:
Classification & Notes
Same
Text: The command and complete recipient list agree.
Verse MT 12:24 Different
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
MT 12:24
‘Thus says YHWH: You shall not go up or fight your brothers, the sons of Israel. Return, each to his house, because this matter has come from Me.’” They listened to YHWH’s word and turned back to go their way, according to YHWH’s word.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
LXX 12:24
‘Thus says the Lord: You shall not go up or fight your brothers, the sons of Israel. Let each return to his own house, because this matter has come from Me.’” They listened to the Lord’s word and stopped going, according to the Lord’s word.
Classification & Notes
Different
Text: Hebrew describes turning back to depart; Greek explicitly describes stopping the expedition. Both retain the prohibition on fighting their brothers and the divine explanation, rather than a narrator-supplied diplomatic motive.
The Greek retelling of a fractured kingdom
Editorial reading within the same royal history. This extended Greek account is printed once at its source location, with its differences from chapters 11 and 14 stated.
12:24a–24f | Rehoboam’s reign and Jeroboam’s Egyptian household
Verse 11:43 Divergent
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
No MT counterpart
[No Hebrew counterpart at this location; compare 11:43 and 14:21–22.]
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
LXX 12:24a
King Solomon slept with his fathers and was buried with his fathers in the City of David. Rehoboam his son reigned in his place in Jerusalem. He was sixteen years old when he became king, and reigned twelve years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Naanan, daughter of Anan son of Nahash, king of the sons of Ammon. He did evil before the Lord and did not walk in the way of David his father.
Classification & Notes
Divergent
Text: This begins the additional Greek account, repeating the succession with its own age, reign length, maternal genealogy, and judgment. Sixteen and twelve are retained; they are not conformed to the later forty-one and seventeen notice. Naanan and Anan preserve the printed name forms. The additional account is translated in full through 24z.
Verse 11:26–28 Divergent
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
No MT counterpart
[No Hebrew counterpart at this location; compare 11:26–28.]
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
LXX 12:24b
There was a man from Ephraim’s hill country, Solomon’s servant, whose name was Jeroboam. His mother’s name was Sarira, a prostitute. Solomon made him a ruler of the staff over the burdens of Joseph’s house. He built Sarira in Ephraim’s hill country for Solomon, and he had three hundred horse-drawn chariots. He built the citadel through the burdens of Ephraim’s house; he enclosed the City of David and was rising up against the kingdom.
Classification & Notes
Divergent
Text: This account calls the mother Sarira and a prostitute, unlike the widow notice in 11:26, and expressly attributes the building actions to Jeroboam. Ruler of the staff renders the difficult archon skytales provisionally; no established official title is claimed. The repeated he and labor references remain, as does the 300-chariot count.
Verse 11:40 Divergent
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
No MT counterpart
[No Hebrew counterpart at this location; compare 11:40.]
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
LXX 12:24c
Solomon sought to put him to death. He became afraid and fled to Shishak king of Egypt, and remained with him until Solomon died.
Classification & Notes
Divergent
Text: The additional account repeats the flight but explicitly includes fear and staying with the Egyptian king. It remains in this account’s sequence.
Verse 12:24d Divergent
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
No MT counterpart
[No Hebrew counterpart at this location.]
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
LXX 12:24d
Jeroboam heard in Egypt that Solomon was dead. He spoke in the ears of Shishak king of Egypt, saying, “Send me away, so I may go to my land.” Shishak said to him, “Ask for something, and I will give it to you.”
Classification & Notes
Divergent
Text: The hearing formula, request, and offer belong to Jeroboam in this Greek account. Similar elements in Ader’s earlier Egyptian story are not substituted for its named participants.
Verse 12:24e Divergent
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
No MT counterpart
[No Hebrew counterpart at this location.]
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
LXX 12:24e
Shishak gave Jeroboam Ano as wife, the older sister of Thekemina his wife. She was prominent among the king’s daughters, and she bore Jeroboam his son Abijah.
Classification & Notes
Divergent
Text: Greek names Ano and supplies the marriage and birth before the child’s illness. Prominent renders great in the royal-household description; the precise family relationship implied by king’s daughters is not reconstructed. Thekemina’s sister is not replaced with the unnamed wife of Hebrew chapter 14.
Verse 11:43 Divergent
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
No MT counterpart
[No Hebrew counterpart at this location; compare the return in 11:43.]
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
LXX 12:24f
Jeroboam said to Shishak, “Do send me away, so I may go.” Jeroboam left Egypt and came to the land of Sarira in Ephraim’s hill country. All Ephraim’s scepter gathered there, and Jeroboam built a stockade there.
Classification & Notes
Divergent
Text: Greek gives Sarira, the Ephraim gathering, and a stockade. Scepter again denotes the tribal body through its ruling emblem. The added fortification is not silently changed to the building of Shechem in verse 25.
12:24g–24n | Ano visits Ahijah; the child dies
Verse 14:1–2 Divergent
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
No MT counterpart
[No Hebrew counterpart at this location; compare 14:1–2.]
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
LXX 12:24g
His child fell very seriously ill. Jeroboam went to inquire about the child, and said to Ano his wife, “Rise and go; inquire of God about the child, whether he will live through his illness.”
Classification & Notes
Divergent
Text: This account first says Jeroboam went to inquire, then gives his instruction to Ano. Both clauses are retained without deleting the first to smooth the sequence. The illness is severe but unnamed; no diagnosis is supplied.
Verse 14:2–3 Divergent
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
No MT counterpart
[No Hebrew counterpart at this location; compare 14:2–3.]
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
LXX 12:24h
There was a man in Shiloh named Ahijah. He was sixty years old, and the Lord’s word was with him. Jeroboam said to his wife, “Rise and take in your hand for the man of God loaves, little cakes for his children, grapes, and a jar of honey.”
Classification & Notes
Divergent
Text: Greek gives Ahijah’s age and mentions cakes for his children. It does not introduce a disguise here. The gift list remains distinct from Hebrew chapter 14; kollyria is provisionally little cakes, without a recipe or exact shape.
Verse 14:3–4 Divergent
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
No MT counterpart
[No Hebrew counterpart at this location; compare 14:3–4.]
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
LXX 12:24i
The woman rose and took in her hand loaves, two little cakes, grapes, and a jar of honey for Ahijah. The man was old, and his eyes were dim for seeing.
Classification & Notes
Divergent
Text: Greek specifies two cakes here, though the instruction in 24h gave no number. The age description follows the earlier sixty-year notice; neither is silently changed. Grapes is retained rather than replaced with another gift from a parallel account.
Verse 14:5–6 Divergent
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
No MT counterpart
[No Hebrew counterpart at this location; compare 14:5–6.]
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
LXX 12:24k
She set out from Sarira and went. When she entered the city to see Ahijah the Shilonite, Ahijah said to his young attendant, “Go out now to meet Ano, Jeroboam’s wife, and say to her, ‘Come in, and do not stand there, because thus says the Lord: I will send harsh things upon you.’”
Classification & Notes
Divergent
Text: Greek introduces a young attendant sent to greet the named woman, unlike the direct doorway encounter in Hebrew chapter 14. The printed lettering skips 24j; no missing verse is invented. The oracle’s second-person address is retained without specifying an unstated personal offense by Ano.
Verse 14:6 Divergent
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
No MT counterpart
[No Hebrew counterpart at this location; compare 14:6, 12.]
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
LXX 12:24l
Ano entered to the man of God, and Ahijah said to her, “Why have you brought me loaves, grapes, little cakes, and a jar of honey? Thus says the Lord: Look, you will leave me, and when you enter the gate into Sarira, your young women will come out to meet you and say, ‘The child is dead.’
Classification & Notes
Divergent
Text: The gift question, Sarira gate, and young women’s announcement are distinctive to this account. The full gift list and the timing of the prediction remain, without importing the other account’s doorway wording.
Verse 14:10–13 Divergent
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
No MT counterpart
[No Hebrew counterpart at this location; compare 14:10–13.]
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
LXX 12:24m
For thus says the Lord: Look, I will destroy from Jeroboam’s house every male who urinates against a wall. Dogs will eat Jeroboam’s dead in the city, and the birds of heaven will eat whoever dies in the field. They will mourn the child, saying, ‘Alas, lord!’ because a good word concerning the Lord was found in him.”
Classification & Notes
Divergent
Text: The coarse male-designating idiom is retained, with house supplied to express dynastic belonging. This Greek account includes the mourning cry and good word concerning the Lord. The child’s death is not explained through an invented personal wrongdoing, and the oracle’s violent dynastic judgment is not softened.
Verse 14:17–18 Divergent
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
No MT counterpart
[No Hebrew counterpart at this location; compare 14:17–18.]
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
LXX 12:24n
The woman departed when she heard. When she entered Sarira, the child died, and the outcry came out to meet her.
Classification & Notes
Divergent
Text: The return is to Sarira in this account. Its report of death on her entrance and the personified approaching outcry remain distinct from the fuller Hebrew burial notice.
12:24o–24z | The torn garment, counsels, revolt, and halted war
The publisher’s lettered sequence omits j, v, and w; these are not missing draft units.
Verse 11:29–31 Divergent
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
No MT counterpart
[No Hebrew counterpart at this location; compare 11:29–31 and 12:1.]
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
LXX 12:24o
Jeroboam went to Shechem in Ephraim’s hill country and gathered Israel’s tribes there. Rehoboam son of Solomon went up there. The Lord’s word came to Shemaiah the Elamite, saying, “Take a new garment which has not entered water, tear it into twelve pieces, give it to Jeroboam, and say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord: Take ten pieces for yourself, to clothe yourself.’” Jeroboam took them. Shemaiah said, “Thus says the Lord concerning Israel’s ten tribes.”
Classification & Notes
Divergent
Text: This account assigns the garment sign to Shemaiah, called Elami, rather than to Ahijah, and places it at the Shechem gathering. Elamite is a provisional rendering of that designation. The unwashed garment and clothing purpose are explicit. The final oracle introduction has no further quoted content in this unit; none is supplied.
Verse 12:4–5 Divergent
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
No MT counterpart
[No Hebrew counterpart at this location; compare 12:4–5.]
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
LXX 12:24p
The people said to Rehoboam son of Solomon, “Your father made his collar heavy upon us and made the food of his table a heavy burden. Now, if you lighten it upon us, we will serve you.” Rehoboam said to the people, “Three more days, and I will give you an answer.”
Classification & Notes
Divergent
Text: This version expressly mentions the royal table’s food burden. The conditional appeal and three-day delay repeat the earlier scene with their own wording.
Verse 12:6–7 Divergent
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
No MT counterpart
[No Hebrew counterpart at this location; compare 12:6–7.]
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
LXX 12:24q
Rehoboam said, “Bring the elders in to me, and I will consult them about what answer to give the people on the third day.” Rehoboam spoke in their ears according to what the people had sent to him, and the elders of the people said, “So the people have spoken to you.”
Classification & Notes
Divergent
Text: The elders’ printed response here restates that the people have spoken; the servant-leadership advice from verse 7 is not inserted into this shorter account. Its abrupt response is retained as a textual difficulty.
Verse 12:8–11 Divergent
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
No MT counterpart
[No Hebrew counterpart at this location; compare 12:8–11.]
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
LXX 12:24r
Rehoboam dismissed their counsel, and it did not please him. He sent and brought in his companions and told them the same things: “These are the things the people sent to say to me.” His companions said, “Thus speak to the people: ‘My little part is thicker than my father’s loins. My father whipped you with whips, but I will rule you with scorpions.’”
Classification & Notes
Divergent
Text: This account calls the advisers companions and ends with rule you, unlike the discipline-you wording in verse 11. The anatomical boast and scorpion threat remain. Dismissed renders the scattering verb idiomatically, without implying that a written council record was physically destroyed.
Verse 12:13–14 Divergent
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
No MT counterpart
[No Hebrew counterpart at this location; compare 12:13–14.]
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
LXX 12:24s
The saying pleased Rehoboam, and he answered the people as his companions, the young men, had advised him.
Classification & Notes
Divergent
Text: The king’s pleasure in the saying is explicit here. The response is reported by reference to the advice instead of repeating the whole threat.
Verse 12:16 Divergent
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
No MT counterpart
[No Hebrew counterpart at this location; compare 12:16.]
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
LXX 12:24t
All the people spoke as one man, each to his neighbor, and all cried out, “We have no share in David, nor inheritance in Jesse’s son. To your tents, Israel, because this man is fit neither for ruler nor for leader!”
Classification & Notes
Divergent
Text: Greek stresses united speech and explicitly rejects the man’s fitness to rule. The earlier instruction that David shepherd his own house is absent from this version. Fit supplies the force of the Greek predicative for-ruler construction provisionally.
Verse 12:16 Divergent
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
No MT counterpart
[No Hebrew counterpart at this location; compare 12:16, 18, 20.]
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
LXX 12:24u
All the people dispersed from Shechem, and each went to his tent. Rehoboam took hold of himself, departed, mounted his chariot, and entered Jerusalem. All Judah’s scepter and all Benjamin’s scepter followed him.
Classification & Notes
Divergent
Text: This account explicitly names the chariot and both following tribes but contains no stoning of the levy official. Took hold of himself is provisional for the verb of prevailing or gaining control; no rescue party is invented. The duplicated dispersal and retreat remain in this account’s sequence.
Verse 12:21 Divergent
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
No MT counterpart
[No Hebrew counterpart at this location; compare 12:21.]
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
LXX 12:24x
At the beginning of the year, Rehoboam gathered every man of Judah and Benjamin and went up to fight Jeroboam at Shechem.
Classification & Notes
Divergent
Text: Greek specifies the year’s beginning, Jeroboam as opponent, and Shechem as destination, with no army total here. The edition skips the letters v and w; the printed sequence is retained.
Verse 12:22–24 Divergent
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
No MT counterpart
[No Hebrew counterpart at this location; compare 12:22–24.]
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
LXX 12:24y
The Lord’s word came to Shemaiah, the man of God, saying, “Say to Rehoboam king of Judah, to all Judah’s house and Benjamin, and to the remainder of the people: ‘Thus says the Lord: You shall not go up or fight your brothers, the sons of Israel. Return, each to his house, because this matter has come from Me.’”
Classification & Notes
Divergent
Text: The additional account repeats the command stopping the war, addressed to the same royal and tribal groups. Shemaiah is called man of God here; the wording is not replaced with the earlier garment-sign designation.
Verse 12:24 Divergent
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
No MT counterpart
[No Hebrew counterpart at this location; compare 12:24.]
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
LXX 12:24z
They listened to the Lord’s word and refrained from going, according to the Lord’s word.
Classification & Notes
Divergent
Text: This closes the additional account with obedience and restraint. The repetition of the Lord’s word remains, and the narrative then resumes at verse 25.
Worship fashioned to secure a throne
Editorial Christian reading: religious policy and royal fear are exposed together. Later Christian application remains separate from the translation.
12:25–33 | Cities, golden images, priests, and a devised feast
Verse MT 12:25 Same
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
MT 12:25
Jeroboam built Shechem in Ephraim’s hill country and lived there. He went out from there and built Penuel.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
LXX 12:25
Jeroboam built Shechem in Ephraim’s hill country and lived there. He went out from there and built Penuel.
Classification & Notes
Same
Text: The two building notices, dwelling, and movement agree. The securely corresponding place names are normalized.
Verse MT 12:26 Similar
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
MT 12:26
Jeroboam said in his heart, “Now the kingdom will return to David’s house.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
LXX 12:26
Jeroboam said in his heart, “Look, now the kingdom will return to David’s house.
Classification & Notes
Similar
Text: Greek adds look. Both introduce the king’s internal deliberation; it is not presented as a new divine prediction.
Verse MT 12:27 Different
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
MT 12:27
If this people goes up to offer sacrifices in YHWH’s house in Jerusalem, this people’s heart will return to their lord, Rehoboam king of Judah. They will kill me and return to Rehoboam king of Judah.”
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
LXX 12:27
If this people goes up to offer sacrifices in the Lord’s house in Jerusalem, the people’s heart will return to the Lord and their lord, Rehoboam king of Judah, and they will kill me.”
Classification & Notes
Different
Text: Greek names return to the Lord as well as to their human lord; Hebrew names Rehoboam and repeats return to him after the killing. Capitalization distinguishes divine and royal lord in the Greek interpretation adopted here. These remain Jeroboam’s fears, not the people’s reported plans.
Verse MT 12:28 Different
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
MT 12:28
The king took counsel and made two golden calves. He said to them, “You have gone up to Jerusalem long enough. Look, your gods, Israel, who brought you up from Egypt!”
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
LXX 12:28
The king took counsel, went, and made two golden heifers. He said to the people, “Let your going up to Jerusalem be enough. Look, your gods, Israel, who brought you up from Egypt!”
Classification & Notes
Different
Text: Greek adds went and uses feminine heifers; Hebrew has masculine calves. Both retain plural gods and the exodus claim, recalling Exodus 32:4. The claimed deliverance is Jeroboam’s proclamation; the narrator does not endorse it.
Verse MT 12:29 Same
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
MT 12:29
He placed one in Bethel and put the other in Dan.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
LXX 12:29
He placed one in Bethel and put the other in Dan.
Classification & Notes
Same
Text: The two placements agree. Greek’s feminine pronouns continue its heifer wording without changing the locations.
Verse MT 12:30 Same
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
MT 12:30
This matter became a sin. The people went before the one as far as Dan.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
LXX 12:30
This matter became a sin. The people went before the one as far as Dan.
Classification & Notes
Same
Text: Both retain the compressed reference to the one and the destination Dan. The translation does not add a second journey or erase the awkwardness by conflating the two sanctuaries.
Verse MT 12:31 Different
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
MT 12:31
He made a house of high places and appointed priests from among the people who were not from the sons of Levi.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
LXX 12:31
He made houses on high places and appointed some of the people as priests who were not from the sons of Levi.
Classification & Notes
Different
Text: Hebrew has singular house with plural high places; Greek has plural houses. Hebrew from among the people is not rendered lowest social class. Both explicitly state the non-Levitical appointment.
Verse MT 12:32 Different
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
MT 12:32
Jeroboam held a feast in the eighth month, on the fifteenth day of the month, like the feast in Judah, and went up onto the altar. Thus he acted in Bethel, sacrificing to the calves he had made. He stationed in Bethel the priests of the high places he had made.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
LXX 12:32
Jeroboam held a feast in the eighth month, on the fifteenth day of the month, like the feast in the land of Judah, and went up onto the altar he had made in Bethel to sacrifice to the heifers he had made. He stationed in Bethel the priests of the high places he had made.
Classification & Notes
Different
Text: Greek attaches the Bethel-making clause directly to the altar; Hebrew has a separate thus-he-acted statement. The date agrees. The male-calf and female-heifer distinction continues, and neither column replaces the eighth month with the seventh.
Verse MT 12:33 Different
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
MT 12:33
He went up onto the altar he had made in Bethel, on the fifteenth day of the eighth month, the month he had devised from his own heart. He held a feast for the sons of Israel and went up onto the altar to burn offerings.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
LXX 12:33
He went up onto the altar he had made, on the fifteenth day in the eighth month, at the feast he had fashioned from his heart. He held a feast for the sons of Israel and went up onto the altar to offer sacrifice.
Classification & Notes
Different
Text: Hebrew follows the traditional read form from his heart against the difficult written form ending in d [Q12]. Hebrew qualifies the month as devised; Greek qualifies the feast and lacks Bethel here. The final verbs differ, burning offerings and sacrificing; no specific incense ingredient is supplied.