12:31 He built temples 1 on the high places and appointed as priests people who were not Levites. 12:32 Jeroboam inaugurated a festival on the fifteenth day of the eighth month, 2 like the festival celebrated in Judah. 3 On the altar in Bethel he offered sacrifices to the calves he had made. 4 In Bethel he also appointed priests for the high places he had made.
12:33 On the fifteenth day of the eighth month (a date he had arbitrarily chosen) 5 Jeroboam 6 offered sacrifices on the altar he had made in Bethel. 7 He inaugurated a festival for the Israelites and went up to the altar to offer sacrifices.
1 tn The Hebrew text has the singular, but the plural is preferable here (see 1 Kgs 13:32). The Old Greek translation and the Vulgate have the plural.
2 sn The eighth month would correspond to October-November in modern reckoning.
3 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.
4 tn Heb “and he offered up [sacrifices] on the altar; he did this in Bethel, sacrificing to the calves which he had made.”
5 tn Heb “which he had chosen by himself.”
6 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jeroboam) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
7 map For location see Map4-G4; Map5-C1; Map6-E3; Map7-D1; Map8-G3.