Charles Ellicott Commentary 1 Kings 14:25

"And it came to pass in the fifth year of king Rehoboam, that Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem;" — 1 Kings 14:25 (ASV)

Shishak. — His invasion is narrated at greater length in the record of Chronicles (2 Chronicles 12:2–12). This account contains a description of his army and a notice that Jerusalem was preserved from destruction (though not from surrender) when the people repented at the call of Shemaiah.

The Chronicler also records the taking of “fenced cities,” having previously noted Rehoboam’s fortification of many such “cities of defence” (2 Chronicles 11:5–10).

This record is remarkably confirmed by the celebrated inscription at Karnak (see the Dictionary of the Bible, article: “SHISHAK”). This inscription enumerates the conquests of Sheshenk (Shishak), and in it, the names of cities—some in Judah and others in Israel—can be traced.

The latter cities were Levitical or Canaanitish. It has been conjectured that, just as the Pharaoh of Solomon’s day took Gezer and gave it to Israel (see 1 Kings 9:16), so the Egyptian army, acting as Jeroboam’s allies, took, or helped him take, those cities that were hostile or disloyal to him.

It is probable that the entire invasion was instigated by Jeroboam, motivated by his desire to crush the kingdom of Judah—a desire that later prompted his war with Abijam (see 2 Chronicles 13:0).