Yerovam's Rebellion/2

Yerovam's Rebellion

Exegetical Approaches

This topic has not yet undergone editorial review

Religious and Social Rebellion

Yerovam's rebellion was a reaction to several of Shelomo's building projects which demonstrated that he cared more for the daughter of Paroh than for the people's religious and social welfare.

Sources:R. Yochanan in Bavli SanhedrinSanhedrin 101bAbout the Bavli, RashiMelakhim I 11:26-28About R. Shelomo Yitzchaki, R. Yosef KaraMelakhim I 11:26-28About R. Yosef Kara, RadakMelakhim I 11:26-27About R. David Kimchi, RalbagMelakhim I 11:26-28About R. Levi b. Gershom, AbarbanelMelakhim I 11About R. Yitzchak Abarbanel, Hoil Moshe

"וְזֶה הַדָּבָר אֲשֶׁר הֵרִים יָד בַּמֶּלֶךְ"

• According to Rashi and R"Y Kara, the verse does not mean to introduce how Yerovam rebelled but rather the reason behind the attempted coup.  In English the verse would read, "this is the matter about which Yerovam rebelled: Shelomo had built the Milo...."¹
• The others apparently understand the verses to mean "And this is the manner in which Yerovam rebelled. [He said] 'And Shelomo built....'".  Alternatively, they understand the word "הַדָּבָר" to mean "הדיבור",‎² so that the verse reads "This is the speech [through which] Yerovam rebelled...".³ Either way, the verse introduces the actual rebellion: Yerovam's public rebuke of Shelomo's actions.

What is the מלוא? These sources disagree regarding the nature of the Milo:

• Closed breaches – According to the Bavli, Rashi, and R"Y Kara the word comes from the root "מלא" and refers to the filling in of the holes that David had left in the city walls.  Thus, the two building projects mentioned in the verse are really one and the same.
• Gathering place  – Radak, instead, suggests that it refers to some sort of square in which the people would gather, as in the verse "קָרְאוּ אַחֲרֶיךָ מָלֵא" in Yirmeyahu 12. [According to him, the closing of David's holes was a distinct building project.]

What was problematic about Shelomo's building projects? Most of these sources suggest that building the Milo was necessary only in order to construct a palace for the daughter of Paroh,⁴ and led to inconveniences for the rest of the nation:

• Less access to the Mikdash – According to the Bavli, Rashi, and R"Y Kara, David had intentionally left entry points to ease the way of pilgrims coming to Jerusalem for the holidays and enable them to seek out God. With Shelomo's building of the Milo these were no longer accessible.⁵ 
• Less access to the king – Ralbag and Abarbanel add that David had left entry points for the people to visit the king whenever they had a grievance or a matter for him to judge.  By closing the openings, Shelomo sent a message of inaccessibility and that he was no longer interested in giving hearings to the nation.⁶

From these sources it is unclear if the people were most upset about Shelomo's misplaced priorities in placing the daughter of Paroh above their needs, the inconveniences themselves, or the king's distancing of himself from the people..

Marriage to Bat Paroh – When the verses speak of Shelomo's many wives, they single out the daughter of Paroh, suggesting that she more than the others might have swayed his beliefs.⁷ This position builds off this negative evaluation of the marriage, suggesting that it impacted not only Shelomo's personal beliefs but also policy decisions regarding entry to the Mikdash and palace.⁸  Moreover, while one might have opined that the marriages were a source of dissatisfaction only to Hashem, and that on the earthly plane there were other factors that led to the revolt, this position suggests that, in fact, both God and man found them problematic.

Appointment of Yerovam – These commentators disagree regarding the timing of Yerovam's appointment as tax officer and how it might have impacted the rebellion:

• Before the rebellion – Most of these sources posit that the verses are achronological and that Yerovam was appointed by Shelomo before the revolt.⁹  It is possible that the new position is what gave him the confidence (and credibility) to publicly oppose Shelomo.¹⁰ Alternatively, it was in his role as supervisor of the labor tax that he noted all the negative of Shelomo's building policies.
• After the rebellion – The Hoil Moshe uniquely claims that Shelomo's appointment of Yerovam was a reaction to his rebellion.  Recognizing that acting against Yerovam would raise the ire of his tribal mates in Efraim, Shelomo decided to instead give Yerovam a promotion, hoping that it might serve to curb his appetite for power.  Hoil Moshe claims that the tactic was, in fact, successful and that Yerovam only resumed the revolt after the prophecy of Achiyah.

Achiyah's prophecy – As above, most of these sources assume that this took place before yerovam's decision to rebel and is part of what prompted it.  The Hil Moshe, in contrast suggests that it took place some time after Yerovam's initial protests and spurred a second round of rebellion.

Evaluation of Yerovam

Why Yerovam?

Economic Issues

Yerovam revolted due to Shelomo's overly harsh and inequitable taxation policies.

"וְזֶה הַדָּבָר אֲשֶׁר הֵרִים יָד בַּמֶּלֶךְ" – According to this approach, these words are a heading introducing the events which served as background to the rebellion.

Tribal Rivalry

Sources:Yerovam's rebellion was rooted in the age old tribal rivalry between Yehuda and Yosef.

¹ See Yehoshua 5:4 for a similar usage of the phrase "וְזֶה הַדָּבָר אֲשֶׁר".  There, too, it serves to provide the background for an action rather than introducing the action itself. [The verse states, "וְזֶה הַדָּבָר אֲשֶׁר מָל יְהוֹשֻׁעַ" and then describes why the circumcision was necessary, but not how Yehoshua circumcised the nation.]

² See Ibn Kaspi who explicitly states this.  It is not clear, though, how he understands the mention of Shelomo's building projects and whether he thinks the second half of the verse constituted the content of Yerovam's speech or not.

³ See E. Samet, "חטאי שלמה ונבואת אחיה השילוני" who understands R. Yochanana in the Bavli to be saying this.

⁴ They point to Melakhim I 9:24 where the building of the Milo is juxtaposed to the building of her house, concluding that one was needed for the other.

⁵ Ralbag and Abarbanel explain similarly but suggest that in building the Milo for Bat Paroh, the area which had previously been used for gathering of Pilgrims was removed.

⁶ He and Radak also bring the possibility that the original breaches were left as an escape route in case the king was attacked.  Yerovam mocked Shelomo's overconfidence in thinking that he could close them and need not fear rebellion. He pointed this out to the people as a sign of Shelomo's arrogance.

⁷ Their marriage is mentioned repeatedly in the chapters covering Shelomo's reign, further suggesting that it was more significant than the others.

⁸

⁹ Ralbag suggests that the unit actually opens by introducing Yerovam as "עֶבֶד לִשְׁלֹמֹה", referring to his role as labor tax supervisor.  They then backtrack to explain how he had been appointed.

¹⁰ They do not address why the Torah did not write the story according to the proper order of events but could suggest that since the chapter sets up a list of Shelomo's foes, it chose to open with the fact that Yerovam, too, was a rebel and not a loyal servant.