Prophet Ahijah the Shilonite

Prophet Ahijah the Shilonite lived in the 10th century BC, during the reign of King Solomon and his successor Rehoboam. According to the Third Book of Kings, meeting the military commander Jeroboam on the road, the prophet took off his new garment, tore it into twelve pieces, and gave Jeroboam ten pieces as a sign that God would tear ten tribes of Israel away from the house of Solomon for his turning to idolatry, leaving the house of David only one tribe for the sake of the promise made to David. Later, when Jeroboam, now king of the Northern Kingdom and fallen into idolatry (having set up golden calves in Bethel and Dan), had a gravely ill son, he sent his wife disguised to the prophet, now aged and blind. Ahijah, recognizing her by the Spirit before she spoke, foretold the child's death and the fall of the entire house of Jeroboam for his impiety.