And when Rehoboam was come to Jerusalem, he assembled all the house of Judah, with the tribe of Benjamin, an hundred and fourscore thousand chosen men, which were warriors, to fight against the house of Israel, to bring the kingdom again to Rehoboam the son of Solomon.
When Rehoboam arrived in Jerusalem, he gathered all the people of Judah and the tribe of Benjamin—180,000 specially chosen warriors—to fight against the northern tribes of Israel and force them back under his rule as Solomon's son.
Rehoboam assembled a massive army of 180,000 soldiers to try to force the rebellious northern tribes back under his control through warfare.
📚 Historical Context
This follows immediately after the kingdom of Israel split in two due to Rehoboam's harsh leadership policies. The ten northern tribes had just rejected his rule and made Jeroboam their king, leaving Rehoboam with only Judah and Benjamin in the south. Rehoboam's immediate response was to try to reunite the kingdom through military force rather than addressing the underlying issues that caused the division.
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