Zeruah
Zeruah was the mother of Jeroboam, who became the first king of the northern kingdom of Israel (1Ki.11.26).
Biography
Zeruah was a widow from the tribe of Ephraim who appears in Scripture primarily as the mother of Jeroboam (1 Kings 11:26). Her husband Nebat had died, leaving her to raise their son alone. Despite her obscurity in the biblical record, Zeruah's role as a formative influence in Jeroboam's upbringing cannot be dismissed. Her son rose from a position of oversight under Solomon's labor administration to become the founding king of the northern kingdom of Israel after the great schism. The name Zeruah may derive from a Hebrew root meaning "leprous" or "diseased," though this has been debated. She stands among the many widowed mothers of Scripture whose sons shaped Israelite history.
Significance
Zeruah's theological significance lies in her indirect connection to a pivotal turning point in Israelite history. Her son Jeroboam became the instrument through whom God fulfilled the prophecy of Ahijah the Shilonite, dividing the kingdom as judgment against Solomon's idolatry (1 Kings 11:29-39). The biblical identification of Jeroboam consistently as "son of Nebat" rather than "son of Zeruah" is itself telling, yet her mention at all signals the narrator's attention to the human lineage through which divine purposes unfold. Her story affirms that God works through ordinary, even grieving, individuals to accomplish extraordinary redemptive purposes.
Verse Appearances (1)
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References
- Orr, J. (ed.) (1915) The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia. Chicago: Howard-Severance Company. [Public Domain]
- Tyndale House, Cambridge (n.d.) Translators Individualised Proper Names with all References (TIPNR). STEPBible. Available at: https://www.stepbible.org. [CC BY 4.0]
- Wikidata contributors (n.d.) Wikidata. Available at: https://www.wikidata.org. [CC0]
- Church of England (1769) The Holy Bible, Authorized (King James) Version. [Public Domain]