VI
JUDAH AND ISRAEL The Division of the Kingdom
The division of the kingdom into Judah and Israel, which took place soon after the death of Solomon, had cast its shadow before. When Solomon, on the day after his mar- riage with the Egyptian princess, disturbed the regular course of the Temple service by sleeping late with his head on the pillow under which lay the key of the Temple, Jero- boam with eighty thousand Ephraimites approached the king and publicly called him to account for his negligence. God administered a reproof to Jeroboam ; " Why dost thou re- proach a prince of Israel? As thou livest, thou shalt have a taste of his rulership, and thou wilt see thou art not equal to its responsibilities." 1
On another occasion a clash occurred between Jero- boam and Solomon. The latter ordered his men to close the openings David had made in the city wall to facilitate the approach of the pilgrims to Jerusalem. This forced them all to walk through the gates and pay toll. The tax thus collected Solomon gave to his wife, the daughter of Pharaoh, as pin-money. Indignant at this, Jeroboam ques- tioned the king about it in public. In other ways, too, he failed to pay Solomon the respect due to royal position, as his father before him, Sheba the son of Bichri, had rebelled against David, misled by signs and tokens which he had falsely interpreted as pointing to his own elevation to royal
