What Does 1 Kings 11:31 Mean?
And he said to Jeroboam, Take ten pieces for yourself, for thus says the LORD, the God of Israel. Behold, I will tear the kingdom out of the hand of Solomon, and will give you ten tribes.
Key words are shown with the Hebrew or Greek and what each word meant.
Selah Decoded Version The Selah Decoded Version renders what the Hebrew and Greek words meant to the people who first heard them.
King James wording
King James Version
And he said to Jeroboam, Take thee ten pieces: for thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel, Behold, I will rend the kingdom out of the hand of Solomon, and will give ten tribes to thee:THE KEY
The “pieces” and the “rending” share one Hebrew root: the sign and the kingdom’s division are both acts of tearing.
THE MEANING
The verse presents authority as something that can leave one hand and be placed in another. What appears to be a whole, secure possession can be divided; the tearing is followed by a giving.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
It undoes the belief that a ruler’s grip makes a kingdom permanently his or impossible to divide.
THE ROOT
קְרָעִים
qera'im
GROWS FROM
קרע
To tear, split, or rend.
English uses “pieces” and “rend” as separate words, but both come from the same root. The ten pieces make the tear visible: the kingdom’s division is pictured as a whole being split apart.
ALSO GROWS
qera'im: Pieces or tears; fragments made by ripping.
קְרָעִים
The pieces in the sign share their root with the act of tearing the kingdom.
qore'a: Tearing or rending.
קֹרֵעַ
This form names the division itself, joining the visible pieces to the kingdom being torn.
THE PATTERN
A held order can be broken open and its authority reassigned.
Samuel said to him, The LORD has torn the kingdom of Israel from you this day, and has given it to a neighbor of yours, who is better than you.And he changes the times and the seasons. He removes kings and raises up kings. He gives wisdom to the wise, and knowledge to those who know understanding.He has pulled the mighty down from their seats, and lifted up the low.THE THREAD
Samuel said to him, The LORD has torn the kingdom of Israel from you this day, and has given it to a neighbor of yours, who is better than you.The Hebrew verb translated “rent” shares the root קרע (qaraʿ), “to tear,” with the “pieces” and “rend” in this verse. In both, tearing names the break that makes a transfer of rule visible.
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