Verse Lens · Expanded explanation
1 Kings 14:17 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 17. 17And Jeroboam’s wife arose, and departed, and came to Tirzah: and when she came to the threshold of the door, the child died;
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Quick Meaning
This verse opens the thought unit and establishes its first action or speech: “And Jeroboam’s wife arose, and departed, and came to Tirzah: and when she came to the threshold of….” Its responsible meaning belongs to the complete movement “The child dies and Jeroboam's reign closes.”
The threshold of Tirzah keeps the word
This verse is one part of that explanation in 1 Kings 14:17–20. The complete section carries the connected meaning and how it should shape life.
Read It With
- 1 Kings 14:17–20
Read 1 Kings 14:17 with 14:17–20. The selected wording supplies one opening in the thought unit and establishes its first action or speech; the surrounding verses supply the causes, responses, and outcome summarized here: Reports the child dying when his mother crosses Tirzah's threshold; closes Jeroboam's twenty-two-year reign with Nadab's succession.
Why This Verse Appears Here
Within “The child dies and Jeroboam's reign closes,” 1 Kings 14:17 opens the thought unit and establishes its first action or speech through the wording “And Jeroboam’s wife arose, and departed, and came to Tirzah: and when she came to the threshold of….” Its placement is governed by this reviewed relationship: 1 Kings 14:7–16 establishes this prior movement: Begins the oracle by recalling Jeroboam's elevation over Israel; holds Jeroboam accountable for sinning and causing Israel to sin. 1 Kings 14:17–20 brings the preceding movement toward its stated result or close; that demonstrated relationship, rather than database adjacency alone, explains its placement.
Read 1 Kings 14:17–20 together
Why these verses belong together: The child dies and Jeroboam's reign closes is the complete reviewed scene, prayer, oracle, list, or regnal notice bounded at 14:17–14:20.
Verse 17. 17 And Jeroboam’s wife arose, and departed, and came to Tirzah: and when she came to the threshold of the door, the child died;
Verse 18. 18 And they buried him; and all Israel mourned for him, according to the word of the LORD, which he spake by the hand of his servant Ahijah the prophet.
Verse 19. 19 And the rest of the acts of Jeroboam, how he warred, and how he reigned, behold, they are written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel.
Verse 20. 20 And the days which Jeroboam reigned were two and twenty years: and he slept with his fathers, and Nadab his son reigned in his stead.
Follow the Context
- Reports the child dying when his mother crosses Tirzah's threshold
- Closes Jeroboam's twenty-two-year reign with Nadab's succession
What This Verse Is Not Saying
1 Kings 14:17 does not permit the wording “And Jeroboam’s wife arose, and departed, and came to Tirzah: and when she came to the threshold of…” to be read apart from the selected verse's context. The unit does not blame a child or parent for illness or death, promise that every child will be healed, or turn grief and restored life into a technique, payment, or measure of faith.
What Remains True
Faithful care keeps bodily need, grief, danger, agency, and honest uncertainty visible rather than converting suffering into blame or a promised formula. This unit tests that truth through reports the child dying when his mother crosses Tirzah's threshold; closes Jeroboam's twenty-two-year reign with Nadab's succession. In 1 Kings 14:17, the concrete line “And Jeroboam’s wife arose, and departed, and came to Tirzah: and when she came to the threshold of…” keeps that truth accountable to the narrated evidence.
Teach It Back
In 70–220 words, explain 1 Kings 14:17's role in 14:17–20. Paraphrase “And Jeroboam’s wife arose, and departed, and came to Tirzah: and when she came to the threshold of…,” identify one agent or affected person, state one material source or historical limit, and name one conclusion the context does not authorize.
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Continue in Context
Read the complete section for the connected explanation and how it should shape life. This verse is a doorway into that passage, not a saying that stands alone.
Read 1 Kings 14:17–20 — The child dies and Jeroboam's reign closesSources used for this Verse Lens
How certain is this explanation? probable
These are the sources used directly for this lens. Language, grammar, disagreements, and the complete source shelf remain attached to the full thought-unit research record.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact displayed KJV wording, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and complete verse coverage.
Exact location: 1 Kings 14:17–20, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM corpus
Open source ↗hebrew text and morphology
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible: 1 Kings
Open Scriptures
Open Scriptures, release 2.2
Supports: Hebrew wording and morphology used for lexical, grammatical, name, clause, and older-English checks; this is not a critical apparatus or historical proof.
Exact location: Open Scriptures MorphHB v.2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/1Kgs.xml, Masoretic words and morphology for 14:17–20
Open source ↗translation and translator notes
NET Bible: 1 Kings with translators' notes
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press, 2006
Supports: Only printed unit-level translation, lexical, grammatical, textual, historical, and verse-numbering notes; silence is not evidence.
Exact location: NET Bible 1 Kings PDF, printed pp. 612–614, translation and translator notes for 14:17–20
Open source ↗