Jeroboam I

JEROBOAM I. - King of Israel (ca. 932-911 B.C.), son of the widow Sarva, of the tribe of Ephraim. He founded the first dynasty in the Kingdom of Israel after the schism.

Already during the reign of Solomon he had distinguished himself as an intelligent worker and had been superintendent of the laborers of the house of Joseph (1 Kings 11:26 ff.). But in the last years of this king, while the millô' was being built (a fortification work already begun by David), J. rebelled against his sovereign: the motive for such a gesture must have been the growing discontent among the people over the continuous tax burdens imposed by the new works. In that period the prophet Ahijah signified to him by a symbolic action (tearing the cloak into 12 parts) that he would become head of 10 tribes (1 Kings 11:29-39). Persecuted therefore by Solomon, he sought refuge in Egypt with the pharaoh Shishak. Recalled to his homeland after the death of Solomon (932 B.C.), he was charged with presenting to the new king Rehoboam (v.), at the assembly of Shechem, the people's demands for a less burdensome regime. But since Rehoboam decided in favor of intransigence, the northern tribes rebelled against the Davidic dynasty and elected a king of their own in the person of J. himself (1 Kings 12:1-26).

Thus the nation remained divided into two kingdoms: the southern one (Kingdom of Judah), which continued under the Davidic dynasty, with the obedience of the tribe of Judah and practically of the tribe of Simeon and various elements of Benjamin, and the northern one ("Kingdom of Ephraim"

or "of Israel," later also called "of Samaria"), which had on its side the remaining tribes with a larger territory, comprising the northern part of Cisjordan and the whole of occupied Transjordan.

Once the split had occurred, J. immediately thought of consolidating the new kingdom with measures of a political-military character. He fortified the principal centers, among them the new capital Shechem, and Penuel in Gilead, where for some time he placed his residence. Moreover, in order to cut every tie with the Kingdom of Judah and prevent the people from being drawn to Jerusalem for religious practices, he established in his kingdom two schismatic sanctuaries: one at Bethel (southern extremity), famous for the memories of the patriarchs, the other at Dan (northern extremity), where since the time of the Judges (Judg. 18:27-31) there had been an illegitimate sanctuary. There he instituted a service of priests and a cycle of rites and religious feasts similar to those celebrated in the Temple of Jerusalem: the feast of Tabernacles is remembered in particular, the most popular of all, whose celebration was however moved by a month. And, what is more serious, he placed in these two sanctuaries a golden calf and invited the people to adore Yahweh under that figure (1 Kings 12:26-33), much as Aaron had done in the desert. It was the flagrant violation of one of the most delicate Mosaic laws, and although it was not in itself an act of idolatry - so today's exegetes hold - it was nevertheless for the people a serious danger of idolatry, as was seen later. Therefore J.'s gesture is severely condemned in Sacred Scripture as "an incentive to sin" for all Israel (1 Kings 12:30). And also afterward J. is pointed out as the one who led Israel into sin (cf. 1 Kings 15:26; 16:19, 26; 2 Kings 10:31; etc.).

This fault was also the cause of the ruin and destruction of his house, foretold to him by the same prophet Ahijah who had foreannounced the throne to him (1 Kings 14:1-16). But already at the inauguration of the illegitimate cult at Bethel a prophet arose (1 Kings 13:1-10) who protested against that violation of the divine law and predicted the destruction of the sanctuary under King Josiah (v.). Despite the severe warning, J. allowed considerations of a political order to prevail in his ambitious soul. In his last years he went down to battle against the king of Judah, Abijah son of Rehoboam, but suffered a harsh defeat (2 Chron. 13: the figures that are read there, 400,000 and 800,000 soldiers on one side and the other, are enormous; there must be a copyist's error or an exchange of letters: it is a question at most of 40,000 and 80,000 men). J. died after 22 years of reign, and his son Nadab (911-909) succeeded him, who after barely two years was assassinated by Baasha; with him the dynasty of J. came to an end.

Gaetano Stano