Rehoboam in Fausset's Bible Dictionary

Solomon's son by the Ammonite Naamah (1 Kings 14:21; 1 Kings 14:13; 1 Kings 11:43; 2 Chronicles 12:13). Succeeded his father in his 41st year. In 2 Chronicles 13:7 "young and tender hearted" means inexperienced (for he was not young in years then) and faint-hearted, not energetic in making a stand against those who insolently rose against him. In his reign Ephraim's gathering jealousy of a rival (Judges 8:1; Judges 12:1) came to a crisis, the steps to which were the severance of Israel under Ishbosheth (2 Samuel 2) from Judah under David; the removal of the political capital from Shechem, and the seat of national worship from Shiloh to Jerusalem; and finally Solomon's heavy taxation for great national and monarchical buildings, and Rehoboam's injudicious reply to the petition for lightening the burden. The maschil (Psalm 78) of Asaph is a warning to Ephraim not to incur a fresh judgment by rebelling against God's appointment which transferred Ephraim's prerogative, for its sins, to Judah; he delicately avoids wounding Ephraim's sensitiveness by not naming revolt as likely (compare 2 Samuel 20:2). He leaves the application to themselves. Rehoboam selected Shechem as his place of coronation, probably to conciliate Ephraim. But Ephraim's reason for desiring Shechem for the place of coronation was their intention to rebel; so they made Jeroboam the spokesman of their complaints. (See JEROBOAM.) It would have saved Rehoboam the loss of the majority of his kingdom, had he heeded his father's wise old counselors (Proverbs 27:10), and shown the same conciliatory spirit in reply to Israel's embassy; but he forgot his father's proverb (Proverbs 15:1). In the three days' interval between their mission and his reply he preferred the counsel of the inexperienced young men, his compeers, who had been reared in the time of Solomon's degeneracy, "my father chastised you with whips, I will chastise you with scorpions," i.e. scourges armed with sharp points. Solomon in Ecclesiastes 2:19 expresses his misgiving as to Rehoboam, "who knoweth whether the man after me shall be a wise man or a fool?" His folly was overruled by Jehovah to perform His prophecy by Ahijar unto Jeroboam. (See AHIJAR; JEROBOAM.)...