And when all Israel saw that the king did not listen to them, the people answered the king, 'What share do we have in David? We have no inheritance in the son of Jesse. To your tents, O Israel! Look now to your own house, David.' So Israel departed to their tents — The people's response crystallizes into a revolutionary formula: "What share have we in David?" They renounce not merely Rehoboam but the Davidic dynasty itself. The phrase "to your tents, O Israel" becomes the cry of secession, an echo of ancient tribal independence and Sheba's earlier rebellion (2 Samuel 20:1). The verb וַיֵּלְכוּ (vayyelkhu, they departed) marks the finality of separation. In refusing to listen, Rehoboam has forfeited the people's allegiance; the kingdom is shattered.

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