1 Kings 12:32-33

12:32 Jeroboam inaugurated a festival on the fifteenth day of the eighth month, 1  like the festival celebrated in Judah. 2  On the altar in Bethel he offered sacrifices to the calves he had made. 3  In Bethel he also appointed priests for the high places he had made.

A Prophet from Judah Visits Bethel

12:33 On the fifteenth day of the eighth month (a date he had arbitrarily chosen) 4  Jeroboam 5  offered sacrifices on the altar he had made in Bethel. 6  He inaugurated a festival for the Israelites and went up to the altar to offer sacrifices.

1 Kings 14:5

14:5 But the Lord had told Ahijah, “Look, Jeroboam’s wife is coming to find out from you what will happen to her son, for he is sick. Tell her so-and-so. 7  When she comes, she will be in a disguise.”

1 sn The eighth month would correspond to October-November in modern reckoning.

2 sn The festival he celebrated in Judah probably refers to the Feast of Tabernacles (i.e., Booths or Temporary Shelters), held in the seventh month (September-October). See also 1 Kgs 8:2.

3 tn Heb “and he offered up [sacrifices] on the altar; he did this in Bethel, sacrificing to the calves which he had made.”

4 tn Heb “which he had chosen by himself.”

5 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jeroboam) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

6 map For location see Map4-G4; Map5-C1; Map6-E3; Map7-D1; Map8-G3.

7 sn Tell her so-and-so. Certainly the Lord gave Ahijah a specific message to give to Jeroboam’s wife (see vv. 6-16), but the author of Kings here condenses the Lord’s message with the words “so-and-so.” For dramatic effect he prefers to have us hear the message from Ahijah’s lips as he speaks to the king’s wife.