002_cudworth_co_498_523 13/02/15 11:26 Pagina 519 THE DIVISION OF ISRAEL’S KINGDOM IN CHRONICLES 519 the construction of the temple (v. 10), which he sought to do from the very beginning of his reign (2 Chronicles 1–2) and eventually completed (2 Chronicles 3–7). Abijah opened his speech with such a loaded statement because he wanted to show how even though previous regrettable circumstances put YHWH’s promises into question, they would certainly not negate his covenant with the Davidic line. 3. The ambiguity in 2 Chr 13,6-7 With the explanation in vv. 6-7, scholars have offered two dif- ferent interpretations due to the ambiguous terms wynda (“his lord”) in v. 6 and the pronominal suffix of wyl[ (“about him”) in v. 7. In one interpretation, Japhet identifies wynda as Solomon so that v. 6 alludes to Jeroboam’s rebellion as recorded in 1 Kgs 11,26-40 64. As she concedes, this amounts to an unexpected reference since the Chronicler does not include that part of 1 Kings in his narrative. Nevertheless, she argues that the strong language of a slave (db[) rebelling against his lord (wynda) indicates that the seeds of division were sown well before Rehoboam came to power. Next, she suggests that the ambiguous pronoun in v. 7 refers to Jeroboam in the subsequent stage of his revolt. This time “worthless scoundrels” gather to him so that together they defied (l[ wcmaty) God’s chosen king. In doing this, she continues, the Chronicler changes the justifiable complaint made by the people in 1 Kings into an “irresponsible act of a handful of blackguards”. Knoppers takes a similar line, but also remarks that the divi- sion took place when the weak-hearted and inexperienced Re- hoboam had just assumed the throne, thus alleviating him from some of the blame he received in 1 Kings 12 65. In addition, this interpretation places the culpability more squarely on Jeroboam for taking advantage of the vulnerable king. Following Abijah’s affirmation of the Davidic kingship in v. 5, this reading of vv. 6- 7 blames the opportunistic Jeroboam for establishing another kingship illicitly. 64 JAPHET, I & II Chronicles, 691-692. 65 KNOPPERS, “Rehoboam in Chronicles”, 439.