New Living Translation
1 Kings 12:29
29He placed these calf idols in Bethel and in Dan—at either end of his kingdom.
1 Kings 12:29 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And he set the one in Beth–el, and the other put he in Dan.
- New International Version (NIV)One he set up in Bethel, and the other in Dan.
- English Standard Version (ESV)And he set one in Bethel, and the other he put in Dan.
- New King James Version (NKJV)And he set up one in Bethel, and the other he put in Dan.
Context of 1 Kings 12:29
27When these people go to Jerusalem to offer sacrifices at the Temple of the Lord, they will again give their allegiance to King Rehoboam of Judah. They will kill me and make him their king instead.” 28So on the advice of his counselors, the king made two gold calves. He said to the people, “It is too much trouble for you to worship in Jerusalem. Look, Israel, these are the gods who brought you out of Egypt!” He placed these calf idols in Bethel and in Dan—at either end of his kingdom. 30But this became a great sin, for the people worshiped the idols, traveling as far north as Dan to worship the one there. 31Jeroboam also erected buildings at the pagan shrines and ordained priests from the common people—those who were not from the priestly tribe of Levi.
Read all of 1 Kings 121 Kings 12:29 word by word
וַיָּ֥שֶׂם אֶת־הָאֶחָ֖ד בְּבֵֽית־אֵ֑ל וְאֶת־הָאֶחָ֖ד נָתַ֥ן בְּדָֽן׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for 1 Kings 12:29
- Genesis 12:8After that, Abram traveled south and set up camp in the hill country, with Bethel to the west and Ai to the east. There he built another altar and dedicated it to the Lord, and he worshiped the Lord.
- Genesis 28:19He named that place Bethel (which means “house of God”), although it was previously called Luz.
- Genesis 35:1Then God said to Jacob, “Get ready and move to Bethel and settle there. Build an altar there to the God who appeared to you when you fled from your brother, Esau.”
- Hosea 4:15“Though you, Israel, are a prostitute, may Judah not be guilty of such things. Do not join the false worship at Gilgal or Beth-aven, and do not take oaths there in the Lord’s name.
- Genesis 14:14When Abram heard that his nephew Lot had been captured, he mobilized the 318 trained men who had been born into his household. Then he pursued Kedorlaomer’s army until he caught up with them at Dan.
- Deuteronomy 34:1Then Moses went up to Mount Nebo from the plains of Moab and climbed Pisgah Peak, which is across from Jericho. And the Lord showed him the whole land, from Gilead as far as Dan;
- Judges 18:29They renamed the town Dan after their ancestor, Israel’s son, but it had originally been called Laish.
- Judges 20:1Then all the Israelites were united as one man, from Dan in the north to Beersheba in the south, including those from across the Jordan in the land of Gilead. The entire community assembled in the presence of the Lord at Mizpah.
- 2 Kings 10:29He did not, however, destroy the gold calves at Bethel and Dan, with which Jeroboam son of Nebat had caused Israel to sin.
- Jeremiah 8:16“The snorting of the enemies’ warhorses can be heard all the way from the land of Dan in the north! The neighing of their stallions makes the whole land tremble. They are coming to devour the land and everything in it— cities and people alike.
- Amos 8:14And those who swear by the shameful idols of Samaria— who take oaths in the name of the god of Dan and make vows in the name of the god of Beersheba— they will all fall down, never to rise again.”
Commentaries on 1 Kings 12:29
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 29One 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!Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 29In 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…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. 29-30Jeroboam placed calf idols in Bethel (southern Israel) and Dan (northern Israel). These locations had long religious traditions (see Genesis 12:8; 28:11–19; Judges 18:30–31). Archaeologists found a high place, an altar for pagan worship, in Dan. Bethel was where Jacob dreamed (Genesis 28:10–22). It was also where the ark of the covenant rested during the time of the judges (Judges 20:18–28) and served as a sanctuary in Samuel’s time (1 Samuel 7:16; 10:3).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 26-3226-32. Jeroboam said in his heart, Now shall the kingdom return to the house of David--Having received the kingdom from God, he should have relied on the divine protection. But he did not. With a view to withdraw the people from the temple and destroy the sacred associations connected with Jerusalem, he made serious and unwarranted innovations on the religious observances of the country, on pretext of saving the people the trouble and expense of a distant…Read the comment
Topics related to 1 Kings 12:29
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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