Text: 2 Chronicles 10:16
OT Text Referred to: 2 Samuel 20:1
Subject: "No portion in David" secession formula
Source: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Reference Type: Allusion
Connection Method(s): None
Significance: The northern tribes' cry at the division of the kingdom—"What portion have we in David?" (2 Chr 10:16)—deliberately echoes Sheba son of Bicri's earlier rebellion cry in 2 Samuel 20:1: "We have no portion in David, and we have no inheritance in the son of Jesse." The shared formula (ein-lanu cheleq be-David) reveals that the secession under Rehoboam was not unprecedented but followed a pattern of northern dissatisfaction that had surfaced even during David's reign. The Chronicler's audience would recognize this verbal echo as demonstrating that the kingdom's division had deep historical roots in tribal tensions predating Solomon's oppressive policies.