Guess what? I made a mistake in my last post. I stated that 11 of 12 tribes stopped serving Rehoboam, son of Solomon. I read what the Lord said to Solomon:

“I will not tear away all the kingdom, but I will give one tribe to your son for the sake of My servant David and for the sake of Jerusalem which I have chosen.” (1 Kings 11:13)

And then I did the math… 12-11=1. But that’s not technically what happened, and as I picked up my study today, I realized my mistake. The tribe of Benjamin was here and then it was there, and so as I hunted I discovered this note about 1 Kings 12:21 in the ASV on the topic:

“The tribe of Benjamin had split loyalty and land during the divided-kingdom era.” And, “The 12th tribe, Benjamin, was split between the two kingdoms.”

Each tribe of Israel had been assigned land, and Benjamin was located between Judah and the other tribes who split off during the reign of Rehoboam. Benjamin stood with Rehoboam in 2 Chronicles 11. Jerusalem was originally part of Benjamin’s parcel, but when David took it for the “capitol,” Judah absorbed it. So the tribe of Benjamin was in a unique position, and it makes sense why their loyalty was divided. How did things progress to the point in which we see the kingdoms called Israel and Judah? I’m still working on it, but I hope you’ll join me for another lesson. And check my facts! It will keep us both on our toes! 🙂

Image by Craig Steffan from Pixabay