Rehoboam

Rehoboam (c. 972 BCE – c. 913 BCE) was, according to the Hebrew Bible, the first king of the Kingdom of Judah after the united Kingdom of Israel was divided. He was the son and successor of King Solomon and a grandson of King David. Rehoboam reigned for 17 years, from approximately 931 BCE to 913 BCE. His mother was Naamah, an Ammonite princess, making him one of the few kings with a foreign mother mentioned in the biblical narrative.

Rehoboam's ascension to the throne around 931 BCE led directly to the schism of the united monarchy. When he traveled to Shechem for his coronation, the northern tribes, led by Jeroboam, requested that he lighten the heavy taxes and forced labor that his father Solomon had imposed. Rehoboam rejected the advice of his experienced older counselors to appease the people, instead following the harsh counsel of his young friends: he promised to make their burdens even heavier. This decision prompted the ten northern tribes to rebel and form the separate Kingdom of Israel under Jeroboam, leaving Rehoboam to rule only the southern Kingdom of Judah, primarily composed of the tribes of Judah and Benjamin.

The rest of Rehoboam's reign was marked by frequent warfare between the two new kingdoms. In the fifth year of his reign, the kingdom suffered an invasion by Shishak, the King of Egypt, who conquered fortified cities and looted the treasures from the Temple in Jerusalem and the royal palace, including the gold shields made by Solomon. The biblical narrative generally portrays Rehoboam as a king who "did evil" in the sight of the Lord because he allowed idolatrous practices in Judah. He died at the age of fifty-eight and was buried in Jerusalem, succeeded by his son Abijah.