I, king of Israel 1Ki 1:26 1Ki 1:14-20; 2Ch 10:2-13:20
Jeroboam (Heb. Yârobâm, “let the people multiply”, “whose people are numerous” or “the people will contend”, “he contends for the people”; also appears on an old Heb. seal). 1. Name of the 1st, king of the northern kingdom of Israel, who is generally called Jeroboam I (c 931-c 910 BC). He was an Ephraimite from Sereda, son of Nebat and Zerúa (1Ki 11:26). While he was head of a construction company during the construction of Milo, * in Jerusalem, in David’s time, the prophet Ahijah of Shiloh told him that he would be king over 10 tribes of Israel (vs 27-39). Jeroboam was not a man to wait patiently, under such circumstances, for God to set His plans in motion to give him the promised kingdom. Instead, he would have immediately begun plotting against Solomon (v 27). When his plan was discovered, Solomon tried to kill him, but he fled to Egypt (v 40). There he found refuge with Pharaoh Shishak, founder of the 22nd dynasty, who would have interrupted his predecessors’ policy of friendship towards Solomon. When news reached Jeroboam of his death and that Israel’s new king would be crowned at Shechem, he returned to Palestine (12:1-3). He immediately spoke for the people and demanded a promise from Rehoboam, Solomon’s son, that the public burden be lightened (vs 3-5). But Rehoboam, led astray by the foolish counsel of inexperienced counselors, refused to heed the just claims of the people. As a result, the 10 northern tribes declared their independence from the house of David and proclaimed Jeroboam as their king (vs 6-20). He immediately took drastic measures to prevent the 2 kingdoms from being reunited. He founded 2 new temples: one in Dan, on the northern border of the country; and another at Bethel, on the southern border, not far from the main road to Jerusalem. In both places he placed images of calves or calves as visible symbols of the worship of Yahweh (1Ki 12: 26-30). In his proclamation inviting the people to worship in these places, Jeroboam repeated like an echo the words that Aaron had spoken on Mount Sinai to gather the people for the worship of the golden calf (cf. 1Ki 12:28 with Exo 32:4 ). This cult, probably an imitation of that rendered by the Canaanites to Him, under the image of an ox, became the “sin of Jeroboam”, which was followed by practically every ruler of the northern territory (1Ki 15:26, 34; 16 :19; 22:52; etc). He also appointed men who were not from the tribe of Levi as priests, and ordered that the main festivals be celebrated during the 8th month instead of the 7th, as was done in Judah (12:31, 32). He also seems to have placed New Year’s Day in the spring, which in Judah was celebrated in the fall; and having adopted the Egyptian way of reckoning the years of kings – the “no accession year” system – to be different from the kings of Judah 619 (who reportedly counted their years according to the “with accession year” system). ascension” to the throne). With these measures he hoped to align the 10 tribes of the southern kingdom and establish a permanent and irreparable gap between the 2 nations. In that he succeeded, but he brought the curse of God upon himself and upon his people. An anonymous “man of God” from Judah sternly rebuked him for his actions (13:1-6), as did Ahijah, who had foretold the establishment of his kingship (14:6-18). See Chronology (I,C). It appears that Jeroboam chose and fortified Shechem as the first capital of his kingdom. He later moved to Penuel in the Transjordan (1Ki 12:25), perhaps when Shishak’s invasion occurred (see below), and built there. He finally settled in Tirzah, northeast of Shechem, which was his capital and royal residence (14:17). This city remained the capital of Israel until the time of King Omri (16:23). Divine intervention prevented the outbreak of immediate war between the seceding north and Judah (1Ki 12:21-24; 2Ch 11:1-4); however, repeated military clashes between the kingdoms must have occurred, since “there was war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam every day” (1Ki 14:30; cf 15:6), and also “between Abijam and Jeroboam” (1Ki 15: 7; 2Ch 13:3-20). In these wars Jeroboam temporarily lost the southern cities of Jeshana, Ephron and even the new temple of Bethel (2Ch 13:19). Israel also suffered from Pharaoh Shishak’s invasion in the 5th year after separating from Judah. The Bible says nothing about it (1Ki 14:25, 26; 2Ch 12:2-4), but Shishak’s victory inscriptions on the walls of the Karnak temple mention well-known cities of Jeroboam’s kingdom among the places conquered. : Taanak, Shunem, Rehob, Mahanim, Megiddo (fig 476). This was not an empty boast, for a fragment of a victory memorial bearing Shishak’s name was discovered during excavations at Megiddo. Shishak may have thought that the political weakness of Palestine, created by civil war between north and south, would make it easier for him to rebuild the Egyptian empire in Asia, lost since the Amarna era.* One of Jeroboam’s sons died in infancy (1Ki 14:1, 17); another, Nadab, followed his father to the throne of Israel (v 20). 2. Fourteenth king of the northern kingdom of Israel (if Tibni is included in the count). He was the son of Joash, and was sometimes called Jeroboam II to distinguish him from Jeroboam I. His reign lasted 41 years (c793-c753 BC), including an 11-year co-regency with his father (c793-c782 BC), as appears indicate the chronological synchronisms. Whether before Jeroboam’s reign or during the early years of his rule, the prophet Jonah * foretold that the new king would recapture the northern and eastern lands that had previously belonged to Israel (2Ki 14:25). Jeroboam fulfilled this prophecy. He became the strongest king of the Jehu dynasty, if not of all the kings who sat on the throne of the northern kingdom. The biblical record of this reign is extremely brief, consisting of only 7 verses (vs 23-29). However, the short account of his military successes clearly shows that no ruler of the northern kingdom, before or after him, could point to greater achievements than Jeroboam II. He conquered Damascus and Hamat on the Orontes, and recovered most of the Syrian and Transjordanian territories as far as the Dead Sea; so that his kingdom included all that David and Solomon had ruled, with the exception of Judah. It was fortunate for him that Assyria was experiencing a period of weakness during his reign, and thus could not impede his expansionist activities. See Chronology (V, B). 277. Seal impression found at Megiddo. The legend says: “Shema, the minister of Jeroboam” (approximate size). While the kingdom of Israel enjoyed political prestige and economic prosperity, the moral and religious status was very low. The sad picture painted by the prophets Amos and Hosea of the conditions that prevailed under Jeroboam II shows that, despite extravagant sacrifices and celebration of religious festivals, the country was morally corrupt (Amo 5:21, 22; 2: 6-8; Hos 6:6-10). Only 6 months after the death of Jeroboam II his dynasty ended with the assassination of his son Zacharias (2Ki 15: 8-11). It is amazing how, despite the gross wickedness prevailing, a measure of religious toleration existed. When Amos, a citizen of the southern kingdom, uttered his prophecies of evil against the house of Jeroboam in the sanctuary city of Bethel, his priest reported to the king, but nothing was done against Amos except that he was asked to leave of the territory of the kingdom (Amos 7:10-17). 620 During the excavations of Megiddo in 1904 a beautiful jasper seal was found with the figure of a roaring lion and the following inscription in Hebrew: lshm bd yrbm. “Belonging to Shema, Jeroboam’s servant.” This seal, now in Istanbul, is generally believed to have belonged to one of Jeroboam’s high officials (fig 277).
Source: Evangelical Bible Dictionary
name of two kings of Israel. 1. J. I, first king of Israel, Northern Kingdom, after the death of Solomon and the division of the kingdom, 931-910 BC. C. Son of Nebat, an Ephraimite from Seredá, and the widow Seruá. J. was a servant of King Solomon, who had placed him at the head of the levy, due to his abilities, when the Thousand of Jerusalem was being built. J., then, rose up against his king, as a result of the announcement made by the prophet Ahijah, according to which Yahweh would divide the kingdom due to Solomon’s infidelities, and that J. would be king of Israel and would give him ten tribes; but that the line of David would not end, according to the promise made by Yahweh. King Solomon wanted to kill him, so J. fled to Egypt, where he was protected by King Sosaq, and there he stayed until Solomon’s death, 1 R 11, 26-40.
King Solomon died in 931 BC. C. he was succeeded by his son Rehoboam, who was immediately recognized in Judah, in the South, but not in Israel.
He went to Shechem where the assembly of the Northern tribes was gathered, which demanded reforms from Solomon’s successor and lighten the tax burdens with which his father had tyrannized the people; but Rehoboam, on the contrary, threatened to increase them, and was rebuffed.
He was called J. who returned from Egypt and was proclaimed king of Israel as JI, thus fulfilling Ahijah’s prophecy about the division of the kingdom, 1 R 12, 1-24. J. I fortified the city of Siquem, later he did it with that of Penuel, where he moved, 1 R 12, 25, and, finally, Tirsá, where he established his residence, which was the capital of the kingdom until the foundation of Samaria, by King Omrí, 1 R 14, 17. So that the people of the Northern Kingdom would not go to Jerusalem to offer sacrifices in the Temple, in which J. saw the danger that his subjects would return to Rehoboam, he decided to melt two golden calves, one installed him in Bethel and the other in Dan, appointed priests, instituted religious festivals, with which the religious schism was created, in addition to the political secession, 1 R 12, 26-33. A man of God appeared at Bethel as J. was about to burn incense and predicted that a descendant of David would be born, Josiah, king of Judah, 640609 BC. C., which would put an end to these abominations, as indeed happened, as read in 2 R 23, 15-16. The man of God made a sign to reproach the king’s conduct, he said that the altar would be smashed and the ashes would be scattered. At this, J. put out his hand and yelled for the man to stop, whereupon his hand went dry and immobile, and the altar shattered. The man of God made the Lord return mobility to the hand of the king, who invited him to the palace to make him a gift, but he did not accept it and disappeared from Bethel.
Later Abijah, the king’s son, fell ill, and J. sent his wife to the prophet Ahijah, in Shiloh, who had announced to him, in Solomon’s time, that he would be king of…