1 Kings 12:33
in 1 Kings 12On the fifteenth day of the eighth month, a month of his own choosing, Jeroboam offered sacrifices on the altar he had set up in Bethel. So he ordained a feast for the Israelites, offered sacrifices on the altar, and burned incense.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And he went up unto the altar which he had made in Beth-el on the fifteenth day in the eighth month, even in the month which he had devised of his own heart: and he ordained a feast for the children of Israel, and went up unto the altar, to burn incense.
KJV
So he offered upon the altar which he had made in Beth–el the fifteenth day of the eighth month, even in the month which he had devised of his own heart; and ordained a feast unto the children of Israel: and he offered upon the altar, and burnt incense.
⋯
This verse in 1 Kings 12
Commentary
8 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
This verse belongs to 1 Kings 13 rather than to 1 Kings 12, being intended as an introduction to what follows. Which he had devised of his own heart - The entire system of Jeroboam receives its condemnation in these words. His main fault was that he left a ritual and a worship where all was divinely authorized, for ceremonies and services which were wholly of his own devising. Not being a prophet, he had no authority to introduce religious innovations.
This site's exposition
like unto the feast that is in Judah
on 1 Kings 12:32-33
Jeroboam sets his feast on the fifteenth day of the eighth month, one month later than the feast of tabernacles the law fixed for the seventh, close enough to feel familiar and different enough to mark his subjects as his own. He offers on the altar at Bethel himself, priest and king together, a combination Uzziah will later be struck with leprosy for attempting in Judah. The chapter's last clause names the whole project for what it is, a feast which he had devised of his own heart, no word of the Lord behind any part of it.
This site's exposition
a month of his own choosing
Albert Barnes takes a month of his own choosing as the verdict on the whole system: Jeroboam left a worship God had ordered for one he made up. Matthew Henry adds that he sinned himself and made Israel sin. The altar he stands at here is the one chapter 13 condemns.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening4 voices
And thus, [1.] Jeroboam sinned himself, yet perhaps excused himself to the world and his own conscience with this, that he did not do so ill as Solomon did, who worshipped other gods. [2.] He made Israel to sin, drew them off from the worship of God and entailed idolatry upon their seed.
The passover and pentecost he observed in their proper season, or did not observe them at all, or with little solemnity in comparison with this. (4.) He himself assuming a power to make priests, no marvel if he undertook to do the priests' work with his own hands: He offered upon the altar. This is twice mentioned (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
So he offered upon the altar which he had made in Bethel the fifteenth day of the eighth month,....
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 Century1 voice
He offered upon the altar - Jeroboam probably performed the functions of high priest himself, that he might in his own person condense the civil and ecclesiastical power.
The words behind it
24 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיַּ֜עַל | vaiyaal | and he offered up | H5927 → | 890 times |
| עַֽל־ | ʾal- | on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| הַמִּזְבֵּ֣חַ׀ | hamizbeach | the altar | H4196 → | 401 times |
| אֲשֶׁר־ | ʾasher- | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| עָשָׂ֣ה | ʾasah | he had made | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| בְּבֵֽית־ | beveit- | in Beth- | H1008 → | 142 times |
| אֵ֗ל | ʾel | -el | H1008 → | 142 times |
| בַּחֲמִשָּׁ֨ה | bachamishah | on [the] fif- | H2568 → | 343 times |
| עָשָׂ֥ר | ʾasar | teen | H6240 → | 338 times |
| יוֹם֙ | yom | day | H3117 → | 2304 times |
| בַּחֹ֣דֶשׁ | bachodesh | in the month | H2320 → | 284 times |
| הַשְּׁמִינִ֔י | hashemini | <the> eighth | H8066 → | 28 times |
| בַּחֹ֖דֶשׁ | bachodesh | in the month | H2320 → | 284 times |
| אֲשֶׁר־ | ʾasher- | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| בָּדָ֣א | bada' | he had devised | H908 → | |
| מִלִּבּ֑וֹ | milibo | from own heart his | H3820 → | 595 times |
| וַיַּ֤עַשׂ | vaiyaas | and he appointed | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| חָג֙ | chag | a festival | H2282 → | 62 times |
| לִבְנֵ֣י | livnei | for [the] people of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל | yisrael | Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
| וַיַּ֥עַל | vaiyaal | and he offered up | H5927 → | 890 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| הַמִּזְבֵּ֖חַ | hamizbeach | the altar | H4196 → | 401 times |
| לְהַקְטִֽיר׃ פ | lehaktir | to make smoke | H6999 → | 116 times |
וַיַּ֜עַלand he offered up
vaiyaalH5927 →890 times
עַֽל־on
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
הַמִּזְבֵּ֣חַ׀the altar
hamizbeachH4196 →401 times
אֲשֶׁר־which
ʾasher-H834 →5497 times
עָשָׂ֣הhe had made
ʾasahH6213 →2628 times
בְּבֵֽית־in Beth-
beveit-H1008 →142 times
אֵ֗ל-el
ʾelH1008 →142 times
בַּחֲמִשָּׁ֨הon [the] fif-
bachamishahH2568 →343 times
עָשָׂ֥רteen
ʾasarH6240 →338 times
יוֹם֙day
yomH3117 →2304 times
בַּחֹ֣דֶשׁin the month
bachodeshH2320 →284 times
הַשְּׁמִינִ֔י<the> eighth
hasheminiH8066 →28 times
בַּחֹ֖דֶשׁin the month
bachodeshH2320 →284 times
אֲשֶׁר־which
ʾasher-H834 →5497 times
בָּדָ֣אhe had devised
bada'H908 →
מִלִּבּ֑וֹfrom own heart his
miliboH3820 →595 times
וַיַּ֤עַשׂand he appointed
vaiyaasH6213 →2628 times
חָג֙a festival
chagH2282 →62 times
לִבְנֵ֣יfor [the] people of
livneiH1121 →4930 times
יִשְׂרָאֵ֔לIsrael
yisraelH3478 →2507 times
וַיַּ֥עַלand he offered up
vaiyaalH5927 →890 times
עַל־on
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
הַמִּזְבֵּ֖חַthe altar
hamizbeachH4196 →401 times
לְהַקְטִֽיר׃ פto make smoke
lehaktirH6999 →116 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
Isaiah 29:13Therefore the Lord said: “These people draw near to Me with their mouths and honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me. Their worship of Me is but rules taught…
it leads to
- Ezekiel 33:31–33
So My people come to you as usual, sit before you, and hear your words; but they do not put them into practice. Although they express love with their mouths, their hearts pursue dishonest…
- Jeremiah 12:2
You planted them, and they have taken root. They have grown and produced fruit. You are ever on their lips, but far from their hearts.
- Mark 7:2–13
and they saw some of His disciples eating with hands that were defiled—that is, unwashed.
- Matthew 15:2–9
“Why do Your disciples break the tradition of the elders? They do not wash their hands before they eat.”
- Jeremiah 3:10
Yet in spite of all this, her unfaithful sister Judah did not return to Me with all her heart, but only in pretense,” declares the LORD.
- Ezekiel 33:31–33
Through
Mark 7:13Thus you nullify the word of God by the tradition you have handed down. And you do so in many such matters.”
it leads to
- Mark 7:9
He went on to say, “You neatly set aside the command of God to maintain your own tradition.
- Mark 7:9
Through
1 Kings 13:1Suddenly, as Jeroboam was standing beside the altar to burn incense, there came a man of God from Judah to Bethel by the word of the LORD.
it leads to
- 1 Kings 12:32–33
And Jeroboam ordained a feast on the fifteenth day of the eighth month, like the feast that was in Judah, and he offered sacrifices on the altar; he made this offering in Bethel to…
- 2 Kings 23:17
Then the king asked, “What is this monument I see?” And the men of the city replied, “It is the tomb of the man of God who came from Judah and pronounced these things…
- 1 Kings 12:32–33
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About 1 Kings
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.