1 Kings 14:27

 1 Kings 14:27

And king Rehoboam made in their stead brasen shields, and committed them unto the hands of the chief of the guard, which kept the door of the king's house.

a. ASV: And king Rehoboam made in their stead shields of brass, and committed them to the hands of the captains of the guard, who kept the door of the king’s house.  [Thomas Nelson & Sons first published the American Standard Version in 1901. This translation of the Bible is in the public domain.]

b. YLT: And king Rehoboam maketh in their stead shields of brass, and hath made them a charge on the hand of the heads of the runners, those keeping the opening of the house of the king,  [The Young's Literal Translation was translated by Robert Young, who believed in a strictly literal translation of God's word. This version of the Bible is in the public domain.]

c. Classic Amplified: King Rehoboam made in their stead bronze shields and committed them to the hands of the captains of the guard who kept the door of the king’s house. [Amplified Bible, Classic Edition (AMPC) Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation]

d. The Rubin Edition, The Early Prophets, 1 & 2 Kings, Rabbinic Commentary: King Rehoboam made copper shields in their place, and he placed them in the charge of the captains of the runners, who guarded the entrance to the king’s palace.  [The ArtScroll Series/Rubin Edition THE PROPHETS: KINGS Copyright 2006 by MESORAH PUBLICATIONS, Ltd.]

e. ESV: And King Rehoboam made in their place shields of bronze, and committed them to the hands of the officers of the guard, who kept the door of the king’s house. [Scripture quotations are from the Holy Bible, English Standard Version, copyright © 2001, 2007, 2011, 2016 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.]

1. “And king Rehoboam made in their stead brasen shields…”

a. [And] king [Strong: 4428 melek, meh'-lek; from H4427; a king:—king, royal.]

b. Rehoboam [Strong: 7346 Rᵉchabʻâm, rekh-ab-awm'; from H7337 and H5971; a people has enlarged; Rechabam, an Israelite king:—Rehoboam.]

c. made [Strong: 6213 ʻâsâh, aw-saw'; a primitive root; to do or make, in the broadest sense and widest application:—accomplish, advance, appoint, apt, be at, become, bear, bestow, bring forth, bruise, be busy, × certainly, have the charge of, commit, deal (with), deck, displease, do, (ready) dress(-ed), (put in) execute(-ion), exercise, fashion, feast, (fight-) ing man, finish, fit, fly, follow, fulfill, furnish, gather, get, go about, govern, grant, great, hinder, hold (a feast), × indeed, be industrious, journey, keep, labour, maintain, make, be meet, observe, be occupied, offer, officer, pare, bring (come) to pass, perform, pracise, prepare, procure, provide, put, requite, × sacrifice, serve, set, shew, × sin, spend, × surely, take, × thoroughly, trim, × very, vex, be (warr-) ior, work(-man), yield, use.]

d. [in their] stead [Strong: 8478 tachath, takh'-ath; from the same as H8430; the bottom (as depressed); only adverbially, below (often with prepositional prefix underneath), in lieu of, etc.:—as, beneath, × flat, in(-stead), (same) place (where...is), room, for...sake, stead of, under, × unto, × when...was mine, whereas, (where-) fore, with.]

e. brazen [Strong: 5178 nᵉchôsheth, nekh-o'-sheth; for H5154; copper, hence, something made of that metal, i.e. coin, a fetter; figuratively, base (as compared with gold or silver):—brasen, brass, chain, copper, fetter (of brass), filthiness, steel.]

f. shields [Strong: 4043 mâgên, maw-gane'; also (in plural) feminine מְגִנָּה mᵉginnâh; from H1598; a shield (i.e. the small one or buckler); figuratively, a protector; also the scaly hide of the crocodile:—× armed, buckler, defence, ruler, scale, shield.]

1). Easton's Bible Dictionary - Brass; Brass [N] [S] which is an alloy of copper and zinc, was not known till the thirteenth century. What is designated by this word in Scripture is properly copper ( Deuteronomy 8:9 ). It was used for fetters (Judg. 16:21 ; 2 Kings 25:7 ), for pieces of armour ( 1 Samuel 17:5 1 Samuel 17:6 ), for musical instruments ( 1 Chronicles 15:19 ; 1 Corinthians 13:1 ), and for money ( Matthew 10:9 ). 

It is a symbol of insensibility and obstinacy in sin ( Isaiah 48:4 ; Jeremiah 6:28 ; Ezekiel 22:18 ), and of strength ( Psalms 107:16 ; Micah 4:13 ). The Macedonian empire is described as a kingdom of brass ( Daniel 2:39 ). The "mountains of brass" ( Zechariah 6:1 ) speaks of have been supposed to represent the immutable decrees of God. 

The serpent of brass was made by Moses at the command of God ( Numbers 21:4-9 ), and elevated on a pole, so that it might be seen by all the people when wounded by the bite of the serpents that were sent to them as a punishment for their murmurings against God and against Moses. It was afterwards carried by the Jews into Canaan, and preserved by them till the time of Hezekiah, who caused it to be at length destroyed because it began to be viewed by the people with superstitious reverence ( 2 Kings 18:4 ). (See NEHUSHTAN .)

The brazen serpent is alluded to by our Lord in John 3:14 John 3:15 . (See SERPENT .)

2). Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers: (27) In their stead.—The notice of this substitution is not only a curious point of accurate detail, but perhaps intended as a symbolic representation of the change which had passed upon Judah, by which only the semblance of its old glory remained, and its “fine gold had become brass.”

3). Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible: And King Rehoboam made in their stead brazen shields,.... For the king of Egypt had so stripped him of his gold, that he was not able to replace golden ones: and committed them into the hands of the chief of the guard; or "runners" (p), that went before the king, or attended him as his bodyguard when he went abroad: which kept the door of the king's house; which kept guard night and day in their turns.

2. “...and committed them unto the hands of the chief of the guard, which kept the door of the king's house.”

a. [and] committed [them] [Strong: 6485 pâqad, paw-kad'; a primitive root; to visit (with friendly or hostile intent); by analogy, to oversee, muster, charge, care for, miss, deposit, etc.:—appoint, × at all, avenge, bestow, (appoint to have the, give a) charge, commit, count, deliver to keep, be empty, enjoin, go see, hurt, do judgment, lack, lay up, look, make, × by any means, miss, number, officer, (make) overseer, have (the) oversight, punish, reckon, (call to) remember(-brance), set (over), sum, × surely, visit, want.]

b. unto [Strong: 5921 ʻal, al; properly, the same as H5920 used as a preposition (in the singular or plural often with prefix, or as conjunction with a particle following); above, over, upon, or against (yet always in this last relation with a downward aspect) in a great variety of applications:—above, according to(-ly), after, (as) against, among, and, × as, at, because of, beside (the rest of), between, beyond the time, × both and, by (reason of), × had the charge of, concerning for, in (that), (forth, out) of, (from) (off), (up-) on, over, than, through(-out), to, touching, × with.]

c. [the] hands [Strong: 3027 yâd, yawd; a primitive word; a hand (the open one [indicating power, means, direction, etc.], in distinction from 3709, the closed one); used (as noun, adverb, etc.) in a great variety of applications, both literally and figuratively, both proximate and remote [as follows]:—( be) able, × about, armholes, at, axletree, because of, beside, border, × bounty, broad, (broken-) handed, × by, charge, coast, consecrate, creditor, custody, debt, dominion, × enough, fellowship, force, × from, hand(-staves, -y work), × he, himself, × in, labour, large, ledge, (left-) handed, means, × mine, ministry, near, × of, × order, ordinance, × our, parts, pain, power, × presumptuously, service, side, sore, state, stay, draw with strength, stroke, swear, terror, × thee, × by them, × themselves, × thine own, × thou, through, × throwing, thumb, times, × to, × under, × us, × wait on, (way-) side, where, wide, × with (him, me, you), work, yield, × yourselves.]

d. [of the] chief [Strong: 8269 sar, sar; from H8323; a head person (of any rank or class):—captain (that had rule), chief (captain), general, governor, keeper, lord,(-task-)master, prince(-ipal), ruler, steward.]

e. [of the] guard [Strong: 7323 rûwts, roots; a primitive root; to run (for whatever reason, especially to rush):—break down, divide speedily, footman, guard, bring hastily, (make) run (away, through), post.

f. [which] kept [Strong: 8104 shâmar, shaw-mar'; a primitive root; properly, to hedge about (as with thorns), i.e. guard; generally, to protect, attend to, etc.:—beward, be circumspect, take heed (to self), keep(-er, self), mark, look narrowly, observe, preserve, regard, reserve, save (self), sure, (that lay) wait (for), watch(-man).]

g. [the] door [Strong: 6607 pethach, peh'-thakh; from H6605; an opening (literally), i.e. door (gate) or entrance way:—door, entering (in), entrance (-ry), gate, opening, place.]

h. [of the] king’s [Strong: 4428 melek, meh'-lek; from H4427; a king:—king, royal.]

i. house [Strong: 1004 bayith, bah'-yith; probably from H1129 abbreviated; a house (in the greatest variation of applications, especially family, etc.):—court, daughter, door, + dungeon, family, + forth of, × great as would contain, hangings, home(born), (winter) house(-hold), inside(-ward), palace, place, + prison, + steward, + tablet, temple, web, + within(-out).]