English Standard Version
1 Kings 12:25
25Then Jeroboam built Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim and lived there. And he went out from there and built Penuel.
1 Kings 12:25 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Then Jeroboam built Shechem in mount Ephraim, and dwelt therein; and went out from thence, and built Penuel.
- New International Version (NIV)Then Jeroboam fortified Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim and lived there. From there he went out and built up Peniel.
- New King James Version (NKJV)Then Jeroboam built Shechem in the mountains of Ephraim, and dwelt there. Also he went out from there and built Penuel.
- New Living Translation (NLT)Jeroboam then built up the city of Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim, and it became his capital. Later he went and built up the town of Peniel.
Context of 1 Kings 12:25
23"Say to Rehoboam the son of Solomon, king of Judah, and to all the house of Judah and Benjamin, and to the rest of the people, 24'Thus says the Lord, You shall not go up or fight against your relatives the people of Israel. Every man return to his home, for this thing is from me.'" So they listened to the word of the Lord and went home again, according to the word of the Lord. Then Jeroboam built Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim and lived there. And he went out from there and built Penuel. 26And Jeroboam said in his heart, "Now the kingdom will turn back to the house of David. 27If this people go up to offer sacrifices in the temple of the Lord at Jerusalem, then the heart of this people will turn again to their lord, to Rehoboam king of Judah, and they will kill me and return to Rehoboam king of Judah."
Read all of 1 Kings 121 Kings 12:25 word by word
וַיִּ֨בֶן יָרָבְעָ֧ם אֶת־שְׁכֶ֛ם בְּהַ֥ר אֶפְרַ֖יִם וַיֵּ֣שֶׁב בָּ֑הּ וַיֵּצֵ֣א מִשָּׁ֔ם וַיִּ֖בֶן אֶת־פְּנוּאֵֽל׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- Then Jeroboamיָֽרָבְעָםyârob‛âm · JeroboamH3379
- builtבָּנָהbânâh · to buildH1129
- Shechemשְׁכֶםshekem · ShechemH7927
- in mountהַרhar · mountain: hill countryH2022
- Ephraimאֶפְרַ֫יִם'ephrayim · EphraimH669
- and dweltיָשַׁבyâshab · to dwellH3427
- therein; and went outיָצָאyâtsâ' · to come out: comeH3318
- Penuelפְּנוּאֵלpenû'êl penîy'êl · PenielH6439
Cross-references for 1 Kings 12:25
- 1 Kings 9:15And this is the account of the forced labor that King Solomon drafted to build the house of the Lord and his own house and the Millo and the wall of Jerusalem and Hazor and Megiddo and Gezer
- 1 Kings 15:17Baasha king of Israel went up against Judah and built Ramah, that he might permit no one to go out or come in to Asa king of Judah.
- 1 Kings 16:24He bought the hill of Samaria from Shemer for two talents of silver, and he fortified the hill and called the name of the city that he built Samaria, after the name of Shemer, the owner of the hill.
- 2 Chronicles 11:5Rehoboam lived in Jerusalem, and he built cities for defense in Judah.
- 1 Kings 12:1Rehoboam went to Shechem, for all Israel had come to Shechem to make him king.
- Judges 9:1Now Abimelech the son of Jerubbaal went to Shechem to his mother's relatives and said to them and to the whole clan of his mother's family,
- Genesis 32:30So Jacob called the name of the place Peniel, saying, "For I have seen God face to face, and yet my life has been delivered."
- Judges 8:8And from there he went up to Penuel, and spoke to them in the same way, and the men of Penuel answered him as the men of Succoth had answered.
Commentaries on 1 Kings 12:25
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 25Built Shechem - In the sense of “enlarged and fortified.” See Daniel 4:30. The first intention of Jeroboam seems to have been to make Shechem his capital, and therefore he immediately set about its fortification. So also he seems to have fortified Penuel for the better security of his Trans-Jordanic possessions (marginal reference).Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 25-33Verses 25-33 Jeroboam distrusted the providence of God; he would contrive ways and means, and sinful ones too, for his own safety. A practical disbelief of God's all-sufficiency is at the bottom of all our departures from him. Though it is probable he meant his worship for Jehovah the God of Israel, it was contrary to the Divine law, and dishonourable to the Divine majesty to be thus represented. The people might be less shocked at worshipping the God of…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 25Both Shechem (1 Kings 12:1) and Peniel, which Jeroboam built across the Jordan River, were important defense sites against the Arameans.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2525. Jeroboam built Shechem--destroyed by Abimelech (Jud 9:1-49). It was rebuilt, and perhaps fortified, by Jeroboam, as a royal residence. built Penuel--a ruined city with a tower (Jud 8:9), east of Jordan, on the north bank of the Jabbok. It was an object of importance to restore this fortress (as it lay on the caravan road from Gilead to Damascus and Palmyra) and to secure his frontier on that quarter.Read the comment
Topics related to 1 Kings 12:25
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on 1 Kings 12
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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