002_cudworth_co_498_523 13/02/15 11:26 Pagina 500 500 TROY D. CUDWORTH stalled a false cult (2 Chr 11,14-15) and a new, faithful Davidide had become king in Judah (i.e. Abijah). Two recent scholars in particular have argued against such an in- terpretation. First, Knoppers contends that the Chronicler’s ideal- ization of Solomon’s reign not only absolves him from the blame he received in 1 Kgs 11,1-13, but it also removes the legitimacy of Jeroboam’s pursuit of a separate kingship later on (cf. 1 Kgs 11,29- 39) 11. With Jeroboam as the true culprit, Knoppers also minimizes the blame attributed to Rehoboam as much as possible, pronouncing him more of a victim than a villain in the process. Second, Japhet goes further to say that the Israelites’ plea for a lighter workload now has no basis since the Chronicler has “systematically suppressed” any evidence that Solomon had ever subjected his people to slave labor 12. She too removes much of the blame from Rehoboam while placing it on Jeroboam and the people for the secession. These scholars have done well to examine the broader context for questions surrounding Israel’s split. Since the account in 1 Kings places a large portion of the blame on Solomon, it makes sense to take into serious consideration what the Chronicler writes about him. However, this particular interpretation assumes that the Chronicler adapts the reign of Solomon with the intent to exoner- ate him from the division of the kingdom, a claim that must be challenged. Nevertheless, even before assessing Solomon’s ac- tions, we must first examine the Chronicler’s rendering of the ac- tual split itself in 2 Chr 10,1-11,4 (// 1 Kgs 12,1-24). Many scholars have passed over this critical piece of evidence too quickly, deeming the Chronicler’s account inconsistent and incom- prehensible in light of his idealization of Solomon 13, but I will 11 G.N. KNOPPERS, “Rehoboam in Chronicles: Villain or Victim?”, JBL 109 (1990) 423-440, here 425-432. 12 S. JAPHET, I & II Chronicles. A Commentary (OTL; London 1993) 653. See also R.W. KLEIN, 2 Chronicles. A Commentary (Hermeneia; Minneapolis, MN 2012) 158. 13 Cf. E. BEN ZVI, “The Secession of the Northern Kingdom in Chronicles: Accepted ‘Facts’ and New Meanings”, History, Literature and Theology in the Books of Chronicles (London 2006) 117-143. Note the aporetic subtitles in this chapter, “The Prominence of the Seemingly Unexplainable in the (Hi)story of the Secession in Chronicles” and “Explaining the Seemingly Un- explainable and Imagining the Deity”. See also S.J. DE VRIES, 1 and 2 Chron- icles (FOTL 11; Grand Rapids, MI 1989) 278; JAPHET, I & II Chronicles, 653; KLEIN, 2 Chronicles, 153.