1 Kings 12:25

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.
• English Standard Version (ESV)Then Jeroboam built Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim and lived there. And he went out from there and built Penuel.
• 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 son of Solomon king of Judah, to all Judah and Benjamin, and to the rest of the people, 24‘This is what the Lord says: Do not go up to fight against your brothers, the Israelites. Go home, every one of you, for this is my doing.’ ” So they obeyed the word of the Lord and went home again, as the Lord had ordered. Then Jeroboam fortified Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim and lived there. From there he went out and built up Peniel. 26Jeroboam thought to himself, “The kingdom will now likely revert to the house of David. 27If these people go up to offer sacrifices at the temple of the Lord in Jerusalem, they will again give their allegiance to their lord, Rehoboam king of Judah. They will kill me and return to King Rehoboam.”

1 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 9:15Here is the account of the forced labor King Solomon conscripted to build the Lord’s temple, his own palace, the terraces, the wall of Jerusalem, and Hazor, Megiddo and Gezer.
• 1 Kings 15:17Baasha king of Israel went up against Judah and fortified Ramah to prevent anyone from leaving or entering the territory of Asa king of Judah.
• 1 Kings 16:24He bought the hill of Samaria from Shemer for two talents of silver and built a city on the hill, calling it Samaria, after Shemer, the name of the former owner of the hill.
• 2 Chronicles 11:5Rehoboam lived in Jerusalem and built up towns for defense in Judah:
• 1 Kings 12:1Rehoboam went to Shechem, for all Israel had gone there to make him king.
• Judges 9:1Abimelek son of Jerub-Baal went to his mother’s brothers in Shechem and said to them and to all his mother’s clan,
• Genesis 32:30So Jacob called the place Peniel, saying, “It is because I saw God face to face, and yet my life was spared.”
• Judges 8:8From there he went up to Peniel and made the same request of them, but they answered as the men of Sukkoth had.

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

• Beth-El
• Ephraim
• Jeroboam
• Penuel
• Shechem

In the dictionaries

• Ephraim
• Jeroboam
• Shechem
• Mount Ephraim
• Add
• Aholah
• Consult
• Ephraim, The tribe of
• Heavy
• Israel, Kingdom of

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