Jeroboam

About Jeroboam

Jeroboam I was the first king of the northern kingdom of Israel after the united monarchy split following the reign of King Solomon. He was an Ephraimite and a former official in Solomon's administration. The prophet Ahijah predicted that Jeroboam would rule over ten tribes of Israel, and when Solomon sought to kill him, Jeroboam fled to Egypt.

After Solomon's death, Jeroboam returned and led the northern tribes in a revolt against Solomon's son, Rehoboam. He established his capital in Shechem and set up two golden calves in Bethel and Dan to prevent the people from worshipping in Jerusalem. This act of idolatry became known as the "sin of Jeroboam" and was condemned by the prophets.

Jeroboam reigned for 22 years, during which he constantly fought against the southern kingdom of Judah. He was succeeded by his son Nadab. The kings of Israel who followed Jeroboam continued in his idolatrous practices, leading to the eventual downfall and exile of the northern kingdom.

Description from STEPBible TIPNR (Tyndale House, Cambridge), CC BY 4.0, lightly reformatted. This is background reference material, not Scripture and not a FaithGraph editorial claim.