07 works, Today, November 12th, is Ahijah the Shilonite's day, his story illustrated #315

Unknown artist

Ahijah ripped his own robe into 12 pieces

I have no further description, at this time

Ahijah the Shilonite was a prophet of Shiloh in the Old Testament. In rabbinical tradition, he is considered one of the longest lived of the prophets and is honored as one of the seven righteous saints whose piety protects the world from destruction.

Unknown artist

Ahijah the Shilonite, c. 11th century

Miniature Minology of Vasily II. Constantinople

Vatican Library. Rome

The Hebrew Bible records two of his prophecies. In 1 Kings 11:31-39, he announced the separation of the Northern ten tribes from Solomon's United Kingdom of Israel, forming the Northern Kingdom. In 1 Kings 14:6-16, Ahijah's prophecy, delivered to the wife of Jeroboam, foretold the death of the king's son, the destruction of the House of Jeroboam, and the fall and captivity of Israel "beyond the River", a stock expression for the land east of the Euphrates.

Jeroboam was an Ephraimite whom Solomon had put in charge of the labor force.

Harold Copping 

Jeroboam's wife

I have no further description, at this time

Her son Abijah was sick, and on her husband Jeroboam's instructions she disguised herself and went to Ahijah. Although Ahijah was blind, God had told him that she was coming and had had given him a message for her. This included the death of her son, who was to die as soon as Jeroboam's wife came back home to Tirzah. He would be the only one of Jeroboam's offspring who would be buried, "because something good was found in him, to Yhwh the God of Israel". According to 1 Kings 14:17, her son died as soon as she stepped over the threshold. More on Jeroboam's wife

Harold Copping (25 August 1863 – 1 July 1932) was a British artist best known as an illustrator of Biblical scenes. His 1910 book The Copping Bible illustrated by himself became a best-seller.

Copping entered London's Royal Academy where he won a Landseer Scholarship to study in Paris. He quickly became established as a successful painter and illustrator. Copping had links with the missionary societies of his time, who commissioned him as an illustrator of Biblical scenes. To achieve authenticity and realism for his illustrations he travelled to Palestine and Egypt. The resulting book, The Copping Bible (1910), became a best-seller and led to more Bible commissions. More on Harold Copping

Benjamin West, (1738–1820)

Ahijah helped King Saul defeat the Philistines by bringing forth the Ark of the Covenant to throw Israel's enemy into panic

Joshua passing the River Jordan with the Ark of the Covenant, c. 1800

Oil on panel

Height: 677 mm (26.65 in); Width: 895 mm (35.23 in)

Art Gallery of New South Wales  

Benjamin West PRA (October 10, 1738 – March 11, 1820) was an Anglo-American painter of historical scenes around and after the time of the American War of Independence and the Seven Years' War. He was the second president of the Royal Academy in London, serving from 1792 to 1805 and 1806 to 1820. He was offered a knighthood by the British Crown, but declined it, believing that he should instead be made a peer. He said that "Art is the representation of human beauty, ideally perfect in design, graceful and noble in attitude. More Benjamin West

Ahijah helped King Saul defeat the Philistines by bringing forth the Ark of the Covenant to throw Israel's enemy into panic. According to some authorities, he was later commissioned by King David to oversee the vast treasures dedicated to the Lord.

Frans Francken the Younger, (Flemish, 1581–1642)

The Idolatry of Solomon

Oil on Panel

47.6 x 62.6 cm. (18.7 x 24.6 in.)

Private collection

Frans Francken the Younger (Antwerp, 1581 – Antwerp, 6 May 1642) was a Flemish painter and the best-known member of the large Francken family of artists. He played an important role in the development of Flemish art in the first half of the 17th century through his innovations in genre painting and introduction of new subject matter.

Francken was born in Antwerp where he trained with his father Frans Francken the Elder. He may also have trained with his uncle Hieronymus Francken I in Paris, together with his brother Hieronymus Francken II. He became a master in the Antwerp Guild of Saint Luke in 1605 and was deacon of the Guild in 1616.

Francken was a very successful artist and operated a large workshop which made many copies of his original compositions. More on Frans Francken the Younger

When King Solomon offended the prophetic ideal by erecting altars to non-Israelite gods, Ahijah turned against the house of David and commissioned the northern labor leader Jeroboam to become the future king of Israel, promising him the blessings originally intended for the Davidic kings. Ahijah was thus instrumental in the division of Solomon's domain into the northern Kingdom of Israel and the southern Kingdom of Judah. 

William Brassey Hole (1846-1917)

Ahijah denounces the idolatry of Jeroboam

Phillip Medhurst’s Bible in pictures

I have no further description, at this time

William Brassey Hole RSA (7 November 1846 – 22 October 1917) was an English artist, illustrator, etcher and engraver, known for his industrial, historical and biblical scenes.

He was educated at Edinburgh Academy, then served an apprenticeship as a civil engineer for 5 years, although he really wanted to be an artist.

In 1869, he sailed from Swansea to Genoa, and spent the next 6 months travelling and sketching around Italy. In Rome he made the acquaintance of Keeley Halswelle who gave him practical advice on art. 

On returning to Edinburgh, Hole entered the School of Design, then won admission to the life school of the Royal Scottish Academy, first exhibiting there in 1873; in 1878 he was elected an associate of the Academy. Around this time he took up etching and was accepted into the Royal Society of Painters and Etchers (RE) in 1885; he was already a member of the Royal Scottish Watercolour Society (RSW) from 1884. He eventually became a full member of the Academy (RSA). More on William Brassey Hole

Somehow Solomon must have become aware that his servant was about to inherit most of his kingdom, because he “therefore sought to kill Jeroboam”, who was forced to flee to Egypt’s pharaoh for protection. Only when Solomon died did supporters invite Jeroboam to return.

Jean Honoré Fragonard (1732–1806) 

Jeroboam Offering Sacrifice for the Idol, c. 1752

Oil on canvas

115 x 145 cm

École des Beaux-Arts, Paris

Fragonard's painting depicts Jeroboam offering sacrifice for the idol of the Golden Calf. While he was engaged in offering incense, prophet Ahijah appeared before him with a warning message from the Lord. Attempting to arrest the prophet for his bold words of defiance, his raised hand was "dried up," and the altar before which he stood was rent asunder.

With this painting Fragonard won the Grand Prix de l'Académie Royale in 1752.

Embodying the freedom and curiosity of the French Enlightenment, Jean Honoré Fragonard (1732–1806) developed an exuberant and fluid manner as a painter, draftsman, and printmaker. Prolific and inventive, he abandoned early on the conventional career path dictated by the hierarchical structure of the Royal Academy, working largely for private patrons. His work constitutes a further elaboration of the Rococo idiom established by Antoine Watteau and François Boucher, a manner perfectly suited to his subjects, which favored the playful, the erotic, and the joys of domesticity. More on Jean Honoré Fragonard

However, when Jeroboam erected golden bull statues at Dan and Bethel, Ahijah broke with his protegé and predicted God's doom upon his lineage.

Despite his initial support of the rebellious king who would go down in history as one of Israel most evil rulers, Jewish tradition holds Ahijah in high esteem, ranking him with saints such as Elijah, Jacob, and Methuselah. 

Ahijah is singled out by rabbinical tradition as one of the seven long-lived righteous men whose successive lives extend over the whole history of mankind, shielding the generations of their time by means of their piety. More on Ahijah the Shilonite

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