REHEARSAL, TILE. A burlesque by George Villiers, Duke of Buckingham, produced in 1671, ridiculing D'Avenant, Dryden, Sir Robert How ard, and other writers of the heroic dramas of the Restoration. It was long popular, and was imitated by Fielding in Toni Thumb the Great and by Sheridan in The Critic.
RE'HOBO'AlVI (Gk. 'Popo(g, Rhoboam, Heb. Retiab' dm, probably the [divine] kinsman is, or makes, wide). The son of King Solomon by his wife, Naamah, princess of the royal house of Ammon, and his successor, in early youth. to the throne of all Israel (c.937-920 B.c.). The heredi tary jealousy of the northern tribes toward Ju dah, aggravated by Solomon's tyrannical exac tions, came to a head at once upon the son's acces sion. He proceeded to Sheebem to receive the homage of the north, and arrogantly rejected the demand of his subjects that he lessen their bur dens (I. Kings xi. 43; xii. 15). The leadership of the discontented tribes by Jeroboam. who al ready in Solomon's reign hail been exiled for con spiracy (1. Kings xi. 26-40), and who had re turned upon the death of Solomon, indicates a well-defined plan of revolt. The temper of north ern Israel is further shown by the murder of Adoram, the aged minister of public works.
Rehoboam, taken unawares, had to flee to Jeru salem; he made a show of compulsion by force of arms, but Judah had no forces commensurate with those of the north, and hostilities were con fined to border warfare; according to the narra tive he was forbidden to prosecute the war by the prophet Sbemaiali (1. Kings xii. 16-24). From this time the so-called Kingdom of Judah con sisted only of the tribe of ,Judah, and half of Benjamin, with remains of Dan and Simeon. During the reign of Rehoboam Palestine was in vaded (c.733 n.e.) by Shishak, or Sheshonk, the founder of the Twenty-second Egyptian Dynasty. The narrative relates his spoliation of Jerusalem, where the temple suffered heavily (I. Kings xiv. 25-28). (See SHISHAK.) Rehoboam reaped the fruits of his father's vainglorious policy, and personally doubtless deserves the biblical condemnation (1. Kings xiv. 21-24), while his wife, probably a descendant of Absalom, exerted a powerful and evil influence in the government. He was succeeded by his son Abijam (Abijah). See JEROBOAM I.