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1 Kings echoes the story of the Pharaohs in Exodus by describing Solomon and Rehoboam acting like Pharaoh. Solomon enslaves the people, and Rehoboam makes their burden even heavier when Jeroboam, a new Moses figure, asks for relief. The story repeats the pattern of oppression that once defined Egypt.
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Exodus 5:9
Hebrew Bible
8 But you must require of them the same quota of bricks that they were making before. Do not reduce it, for they are slackers. That is why they are crying, ‘Let us go sacrifice to our God.’ 9 Make the work harder for the men so they will keep at it and pay no attention to lying words!” 10 So the slave masters of the people and their foremen went to the Israelites and said, “Thus says Pharaoh: ‘I am not giving you straw.
Date: 5th Century B.C.E. (Final composition) (based on scholarly estimates)
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1 Kings 12:14
Hebrew Bible
13 The king responded to the people harshly. He rejected the advice of the older men 14 and followed the advice of the younger ones. He said, “My father imposed heavy demands on you; I will make them even heavier. My father punished you with ordinary whips; I will punish you with whips that really sting your flesh.” 15 The king refused to listen to the people, because the Lord was instigating this turn of events so that he might bring to pass the prophetic announcement he had made through Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam son of Nebat.
Date: 6th Century B.C.E. (Final composition) (based on scholarly estimates)
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Notes and References
"... just as Moses returns from Midian only after Pharaoh’s death (Exodus 2:23 and 4:19), demanding that the new Pharaoh let his people go, Jeroboam returns to Israel only after Solomon’s death (1 K;ings 11:43), and demands from the new king, Solomon’s son Rehoboam, that he free the Israelites from the heavy burden imposed on them by the previous king ... Rehoboam reacts the same way Pharaoh does in Exodus, by increasing the work load ..."
* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.
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