1 Kings 12:11

Contextual Overview

¹Then Rehoboam went to Shechem, for all Israel had gone to Shechem to make him king. ¹ Rechav`am went to Shekhem: for all Yisra'el were come to Shekhem to make him king. ¹ And Rehoboam went to Shechem: for all Israel were come to Shechem to make him king. ¹ Rehoboam went to Shechem, for all Israel had come to Shechem to make him king. ¹ Rehoboam went to Shechem, where all the Israelites had gone to make him king. ¹ Rehoboam traveled to Shechem, for all Israel had gathered in Shechem to make Rehoboam king. ¹Rehoboam went to Shechem, for all Israel had come to Shechem to make him king. ¹ Then Rehoboam went to Shechem, because all Israel had come to Shechem to make him king. ¹ And Rehoboam went to Shechem: for al Israel were come to Sheche, to make him king ¹Then Rehoboam went to Shechem, for all Israel had come to Shechem to make him king.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

I will add: Exodus 1:13, Exodus 1:14, Exodus 5:5-9, Exodus 5:18, 1 Samuel 8:18, 2 Chronicles 16:10, Isaiah 58:6, Jeremiah 27:11, Jeremiah 28:13, Jeremiah 28:14

but I will chastise: Should you rebel or become disaffected, my father's whip shall be a scorpion in my hand. His was chastisement, mine shall be punishment. Celsius and Hiller conjecture that âkrabbim denotes a thorny kind of shrub, whose prickles are of a venomous nature, called by the Arabs scorpion thorns, from the exquisite pain which they inflict. But the Chaldee renders it margenin, and the Syriac moragyai, i.e., לבסבדםבי, scourges; and in the parallel place of Chronicles the Arabic has saut, a scourge. Isidore, and after him Calmet and others, assert that the scorpion was a sort of severe whip, the lashes of which were armed with knots or points that sunk into and tore the flesh.

scorpions: 1 Kings 12:14, Ezekiel 2:6, Revelation 9:3-10

Reciprocal: 2 Chronicles 10:10 - My little finger Proverbs 13:10 - Only

Cross-References

Genesis 12:6
Avram passed through the land to the place of Shekhem, to the oak of Moreh. The Kana`ani was then in the land.

Genesis 12:6
And Abram passed through the land unto the place of Sichem, unto the plain of Moreh. And the Canaanite was then in the land.

Genesis 12:6
And Abram traveled through the land up to the place of Shechem, to the Oak of Moreh. Now the Canaanites were in the land at that time.

Genesis 12:6
Abram traveled through that land as far as the great tree of Moreh at Shechem. The Canaanites were living in the land at that time.

Genesis 12:6
Abram traveled through the land as far as the oak tree of Moreh at Shechem. (At that time the Canaanites were in the land.)

Genesis 12:6
Abram passed through the land as far as the site of Shechem, to the [great] terebinth (oak) tree of Moreh. Now the Canaanites were in the land at that time.

Genesis 12:6
Abram passed through the land as far as the site of Shechem, to the oak of Moreh. Now the Canaanites were in the land at that time.

Genesis 12:6
So Abram passed through the land vnto the place of Shechem, and vnto the plaine of Moreh (and the Canaanite was then in ye land)

Genesis 12:6
And Abram passed through the land as far as the site of Shechem, to the oak of Moreh. Now the Canaanite was then in the land.

Genesis 12:6
Abram went as far as the sacred tree of Moreh in a place called Shechem. The Canaanites were still living in the land at that time,

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And now, whereas my father did lade you with a heavy yoke,.... Which was putting words into his mouth, owning the charge and accusation brought against his father, as he did, 1 Kings 12:14, which was very unbecoming, if true; unless this is said according to the sense of the people:

I will add to your yoke; make it heavier, lay more taxes on them:

my father hath chastised you with whips; which was putting a lie into his mouth, and which he uttered, 1 Kings 12:14 for no instance of severity exercised on the people in general can be given during the whole reign of Solomon:

but I will chastise you with scorpions; treat them more roughly, and with greater rigour: whips may mean smaller ones, these horse whips, as in the Targum; which gave an acute pain, like the sting of scorpions, or made a wound like one. Ben Gersom says, these were rods with thorns on them, which pierced and gave much pain. Weemse h thinks these are alluded to by thorns in the sides, Numbers 33:55, for whipping with them was about the sides, and not along the back. Abarbinel calls them iron thorns, rods that had iron prongs or rowels to them, which tore the flesh extremely. Isidore i says, a rod that is smooth is called a rod, but, if knotty and prickled, it is rightly called a scorpion, because it makes a wound in the body arched or crooked. Pliny k ascribes the invention of this sort of scorpions to the Cretians.

h Christian Synagogue, paragraph 6. diatrib. 2. p. 190. i Origin. l. 5. c. 27. p. 39. k Nat. Hist. l. 7. c. 56.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Scorpions - By this word some understand whips having leaden balls at the ends of their lashes with hooks projecting from them; others the thorny stem of the eggplant, or “the scorpion plant.” But it seems best to regard the expression as a figure of speech.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 1 Kings 12:11. Chastise you with scorpions — Should you rebel, or become disaffected, my father's whip shall be a scorpion in my hand. His was chastisement, mine shall be punishment. St. Isidore, and after him Calmet and others, assert that the scorpion was a sort of severe whip, the lashes of which were armed with iron points, that sunk into and tore the flesh. We know that the scorpion was a military engine among the Romans for shooting arrows, which, being poisoned, were likened to the scorpion's sting, and the wound it inflicted.