JEROBOAM I. - King of Israel (ca. 932–911 B.C.), son of the widow Zeruah, 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 overseer of the laborers of the house of Joseph (1 Kings 11:26ff.). But in the latter years of this king, while the *millo* (a fortification work already begun by David) was being built, Jeroboam rebelled against his sovereign: the reason for such an act must have been the growing discontent among the people over the continuous tax burdens imposed by the new works. At that time the prophet Ahijah signified to him through a symbolic action (tearing his cloak into twelve pieces) that he would become leader of ten tribes (1 Kings 11:29–39). Persecuted by Solomon, he then sought refuge in Egypt with Pharaoh Shishak. Recalled to his homeland after Solomon’s death (932 B.C.), he was entrusted with presenting to the new king Rehoboam (q.v.) at the assembly in Shechem the people’s demands for a less oppressive regime. But when Rehoboam decided on intransigence, the northern tribes rebelled against the Davidic dynasty and elected their own king in the person of Jeroboam 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 that of Simeon and various elements of Benjamin, and the northern one (“Kingdom of Ephraim” or “of Israel,” later also called “of Samaria”), which had the remaining tribes on its side with a much larger territory, including the northern part of Cisjordan and all of Transjordan that had been occupied.
After the schism, Jeroboam immediately set about consolidating the new kingdom with political and military measures. He fortified the principal centers, including the new capital Shechem and Penuel in Gilead, where for a time he made his residence. Moreover, to sever all ties with the Kingdom of Judah and prevent the people from being drawn to Jerusalem for religious observances, he established within his kingdom two schismatic sanctuaries: one at Bethel (southern extremity), famed for the patriarchal memories, and the other at Dan (northern extremity), where since the time of the Judges (Judg. 18:27–31) there had been an illegitimate sanctuary. Here he instituted a priestly service and a cycle of rites and religious festivals similar to those celebrated in the Temple of Jerusalem: the Feast of Tabernacles, the most popular of all, is specifically mentioned, though its celebration was shifted by a month. And what is more serious, he placed a golden calf in these two sanctuaries and invited the people to worship Yahweh under that image (1 Kings 12:26–33), a contempt akin to what Aaron had done in the desert. It was a flagrant violation of one of the most delicate Mosaic laws, and although it was not in itself an idolatrous act—as modern exegetes hold—it was nonetheless a serious danger of idolatry for the people, as was later seen. For this reason Jeroboam’s act is severely condemned in Holy Scripture as an incentive to sin for all Israel (1 Kings 12:30). And subsequently Jeroboam 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 prophet Ahijah, who had announced his throne to him (1 Kings 14:1–16). But already at the inauguration of the illegitimate worship 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 (q.v.). Despite the stern warning, Jeroboam allowed political considerations to prevail in his ambitious soul. In his later years he went to battle against King Abijah of Judah, son of Rehoboam, but suffered a crushing defeat (2 Chron. 13: the figures given, 400,000 and 800,000 soldiers on either side, are enormous; there must be a copyist’s error or a transposition of letters: the actual numbers were probably 40,000 and 80,000 men). Jeroboam died after 22 years on the throne, and he was succeeded by his son Nadab (911–909), who after only two years was assassinated by Baasha; with him the dynasty of Jeroboam came to an end.