Was Rehoboam a real person?
English: Ahias-silonites was a prophet of Shiloh (1 Kings 11:29; 14:2) in the days of Rehoboam. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) By the time Rehoboam became king, the northern tribes had grown weary of Solomon 's oppressive forced labor policy (see 1 Kings 5:13-18 ; 12:4 ). They asked Rehoboam to lighten their burden; but rather than following the wise counsel of the elders who had served under Solomon, Rehoboam listened to his young peers and pledged to intensify the burden of labor (see 1 Kings 12:6-14 ). This prompted the ten northern tribes to secede (see 1 Kings 12:16 ). Their new leader was Jeroboam , himself a former overseer of forced labor for the "tribes of Joseph," the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh (see 1 Kings 11:28 ). In a final effort to resolve the crisis, Rehoboam dispatched Adoniram , the official in charge of forced labor, to broker a settlement. Adoniram was experienced in these matters, having served as national overseer of forced labor under both Da...