1 Kings 12:29
in 1 Kings 12One calf he set up in Bethel, and the other in Dan.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And he set the one in Beth-el, and the other put he in Dan.
KJV
And he set the one in Beth–el, and the other put he in Dan.
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This verse in 1 Kings 12
Commentary
7 notes on this verseAnd he set the one in Bethel,.... In the southern part of the land, on the border of Ephraim and Benjamin; and the rather he chose this place, because its name signifies the house of God, and had been a sacred place, where Jacob more than once enjoyed the divine Presence: and the other put he in Dan: in the northern part of the land, for the convenience of the inhabitants of those parts; and the rather, since it had been a place resorted to in former times, because of the teraphim of Micah there.
This site's exposition
the king made two golden calves
on 1 Kings 12:28-30
Jeroboam's words, “Here, O Israel, are your gods”, repeat the cry over Aaron's calf at Exodus 32:4 almost word for word. Now a king speaks them over two calves. One goes to Bethel, and one to Dan in the north, and the text says “this thing became a sin”.
This site's exposition
One calf he set up in Bethel
Albert Barnes notes that two calves in two places kept the people from being reminded that they had no ark. John Gill recalls that Dan already had an idol shrine, the one the Danites set up at Judges 18:30. Both places carried old religious weight.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
Sin is a bad way of building up a family. Rehoboam was the son of the wisest of men, yet did not inherit his father's wisdom, and then it stood him in little stead to inherit his father's throne. Neither wisdom nor grace runs in the blood.
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
In the first place, Jeroboam consulted the convenience of his subjects, who would thus in no case have very far to go in order to reach one or the other sanctuary. Further, he avoided the danger of reminding them continually that they had no ark - a danger which would have been imminent, had the two cherubs been placed together in one shrine. He selected Bethel (in the south) for one of his seats of worship, on account of its pre-eminent sanctity. (See the marginal reference; Jdg 20:26-28; 1Sa 7:16.)
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
The latter place was the most frequented--for the words (1Ki 12:30) should be rendered, "the people even to Dan went to worship before the one" (Jer 48:13; The innovation was a sin because it was setting up the worship of God by symbols and images and departing from the place where He had chosen to put His name.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
One in Beth-el, and the other - in Dan - One at the southern and the other at the northern extremity of the land. Solomon’s idolatry had prepared the people for Jeroboam’s abominations!
The words behind it
9 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיָּ֥שֶׂם | vaiyasem | and he set | H7760 → | 584 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| הָאֶחָ֖ד | haechad | the one [calf] | H259 → | 971 times |
| בְּבֵֽית־ | beveit- | in Beth- | H1008 → | 142 times |
| אֵ֑ל | ʾel | -el | H1008 → | 142 times |
| וְאֶת־ | veet | and <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| הָאֶחָ֖ד | haechad | the one [calf] | H259 → | 971 times |
| נָתַ֥ן | natan | he put | H5414 → | 2011 times |
| בְּדָֽן׃ | bedan | in Dan | H1835 → | 70 times |
וַיָּ֥שֶׂםand he set
vaiyasemH7760 →584 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
הָאֶחָ֖דthe one [calf]
haechadH259 →971 times
בְּבֵֽית־in Beth-
beveit-H1008 →142 times
אֵ֑ל-el
ʾelH1008 →142 times
וְאֶת־and <obj.>
veetH853 →10935 times
הָאֶחָ֖דthe one [calf]
haechadH259 →971 times
נָתַ֥ןhe put
natanH5414 →2011 times
בְּדָֽן׃in Dan
bedanH1835 →70 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Genesis 14:14And when Abram heard that his relative had been captured, he mobilized the 318 trained men born in his household, and they set out in pursuit as far as Dan.
it leads to
- Judges 18:29
They named it Dan, after their forefather Dan, who was born to Israel—though the city was formerly named Laish.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Genesis 15:3
Abram continued, “Behold, You have given me no offspring, so a servant in my household will be my heir.”
- Judges 18:29
Through
Genesis 28:19and he called that place Bethel, though previously the city had been named Luz.
it leads to
- Genesis 48:3
Jacob said to Joseph, “God Almighty appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan, and there He blessed me
- Hosea 12:4–5
Yes, he struggled with the angel and prevailed; he wept and sought His favor; he found Him at Bethel and spoke with Him there—
- Genesis 35:1
Then God said to Jacob, “Arise, go up to Bethel, and settle there. Build an altar there to the God who appeared to you when you fled from your brother Esau.”
- Genesis 12:8
From there Abram moved on to the hill country east of Bethel and pitched his tent, with Bethel to the west and Ai to the east. There he built an altar to the LORD,…
- Judges 1:22–26
The house of Joseph also attacked Bethel, and the LORD was with them.
- Genesis 48:3
Through
2 Kings 10:29but he did not turn away from the sins that Jeroboam son of Nebat had caused Israel to commit—the worship of the golden calves at Bethel and Dan.
it leads to
- 1 Kings 12:28–30
After seeking advice, the king made two golden calves and said to the people, “Going up to Jerusalem is too much for you. Here, O Israel, are your gods, who brought you up out…
- 1 Kings 12:28–30
Where this verse is studied
On this page
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About 1 Kings
Who and where
2 names in this verse with a page on the site.
- PlaceCentral hill countryBethelThe house of God, where Jacob saw the ladder and heard the promise, where he returned to raise an altar, and where Jeroboam’s gold…
- PlaceNorthern border, at the foot of HermonDanThe northern limit of the land, where the tribe of Dan settled after taking Laish and where Jeroboam set up one of his two golden…
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.