to build (literally and figuratively) · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
Shechem
שְׁכֶ֛םshe.Khem
H7927
Shekem · proper noun, a place name
mount
בְּהַ֥רbe.Har
H2022
a mountain or range of hills (sometimes used figurative… · preposition + noun, common masculine singular construct
Ephraim
אֶפְרַ֖יִם'ef.Ra.yim
H669
Ephrajim · proper noun, a man's name
dwelt
וַיֵּ֣שֶׁבvai.Ye.shev
H3427
properly · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
out
וַיֵּצֵ֣אvai.ye.Tze'
H3318
to go (causatively · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
built
וַיִּ֖בֶןvai.Yi.ven
H1129
to build (literally and figuratively) · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
Penuel
פְּנוּאֵֽלpe.nu.'El
H6439
Penuel or Peniel · proper noun, a place name
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
Judges 8:17 And he beat down the tower of Penuel, and slew the men of the city.
Judges 8:8 And he went up thence to Penuel, and spake unto them likewise: and the men of Penuel answered him as the men of Succoth had answered him.
Genesis 32:30-31 And Jacob called the name of the place Peniel: for I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved.
Judges 9:45-49 And Abimelech fought against the city all that day; and he took the city, and slew the people that was therein, and beat down the city, and…
Judges 9:1 And Abimelech the son of Jerubbaal went to Shechem unto his mother’s brethren, and communed with them, and with all the family of the house…
1 Kings 9:15 And this is the reason of the levy which king Solomon raised; for to build the house of the LORD, and his own house, and Millo, and the wall…
1 Kings 9:17-18 And Solomon built Gezer, and Beth-horon the nether,
1 Kings 12:1 And Rehoboam went to Shechem: for all Israel were come to Shechem to make him king.
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on 1 Kings 12:25–end
We have here the beginning of the reign of Jeroboam. He built Shechem first and then Penuel - beautified and fortified them, and probably had a palace in each of them for himself (Kg1 12:25), the former in Ephraim, the latter in Gad, on the other side Jordan. This might be proper; but he formed another project for the establishing of his kingdom which was fatal to the interests of religion in it.
I. That which he designed was by some effectual means to secure those to himself who had now chosen him for their king, and to prevent their return to the house of David, Kg1 12:26, Kg1 12:27. It seems, 1. He was jealous of the people, afraid that, some time or other, they would kill him and go agai…
Jeroboam built Shechem--destroyed by Abimelech (Jdg. 9:1-49). It was rebuilt, and perhaps fortified, by Jeroboam, as a royal residence.
built Penuel--a ruined city with a tower (Jdg 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.
Adam Clarke on 1 Kings 12:24
For this thing is from me - That is, the separation of the ten tribes from the house of David.
They - returned to depart - This was great deference, both in Rehoboam and his officers, to relinquish, at the demand of the prophet, a war which they thought they had good grounds to undertake. The remnant of the people heard the Divine command gratefully, for the mass of mankind are averse from war. No nations would ever rise up against each other, were they not instigated to it or compelled by the rulers.
John Gill on 1 Kings 12:25
Then Jeroboam built Shechem in Mount Ephraim, and dwelt therein,.... Not that this city had lain in ruins from the times of Abimelech, Judges 9:45 for then it would not have been a proper place for the convention of the people, 1 Kings 12:1 but he repaired the walls of it, and fortified it, and built a palace in it for his residence:
and went out from thence, and built Penuel; a place on the other side Jordan, the tower of which was beaten down by Gideon, Judges 8:17 and might be now rebuilt, or at least the city was repaired by him, and anew fortified, perhaps for the better security of his dominions on that side Jordan; though Fortunatus Scacchus (p) is of opinion that this was an altar,…
The Church Fathers
The people were divided in those times into the kingdom of ten tribes under Jeroboam and the kingdom of two tribes under Rehoboam. And those under Jeroboam were called Israel, and those under Rehoboam Judah. And the division of the people persisted, according to the history, until today. For we know of nothing in the history that united Israel and Judah "into the same nation." Then Israel first, under Jeroboam and under his successors, sinned excessively, and Israel sinned so much beyond Judah that they were sentenced by Providence to become captives "to the Assyrians until the sign," as the Scripture says. After this, the sons of Judah also sinned, and as captives they were sentenced to Babylon, not until a sign, as Israel, but for "seventy years," which Jeremiah prophesied and Daniel also mentioned.
We have learned in the books of Kings that under Rehoboam, the son of Solomon, Jeroboam, the son of Nabat, made a division among the people and led ten tribes into Samaria. The tribes of Judah and Benjamin, however, remained under the rule of Rehoboam; and many likewise from the tribe of Levi who were dwelling in Jerusalem as priests and Levites—as it is written in Paralipomenon—returned to the temple of God, that is, to Jerusalem. Thus, there were three tribes in Judea: Judah itself the royal tribe, and Benjamin, and later the Levites from the various tribes, when they had come to the temple. They who were in Samaria had a king from the tribe of Ephraim. Just as they who held sway in Judea had a king from the tribe of Judah and from the family of David, so they who prevailed in Samaria had a king from the tribe of Ephraim, and their kings were called Ephraim.
The Scriptures tell us that God chose a certain nation on the earth, which they call by several names. For the whole of this nation is termed Israel and also Jacob. And when it was divided in the times of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, the ten tribes subject to him were called Israel, while the remaining two, along with the tribe of Levi, being ruled over by the de¬scendants of David, were named Judah. And the whole of the territory which the people of this nation inhabited, being given to them by God, received the name of Judea, the metropolis of which is Jerusalem—a metropolis, namely, of numerous cities, the names of which lie scattered about in many other passages of Scripture but which are enumerated together in the book of Joshua the son of Nun. Such, then, being the case, the apostle, elevating our power of discernment above the letter, says some¬where, "Behold Israel according to the flesh," as if there were an Israel "according to the Spirit." And in another place he says, "For they who are the children of the flesh are not the children of God" nor are "they all Israel who are descended from Israel."
Dictionary and topics
Aholah — She has her own tent, a name used by Ezekiel (23:4, 5, 36, 44) as a symbol of the idolatry of the kingdom of Israel. This kingdom is described as a lewdwoman, an adulteress, given up to the…
Ephraim, The tribe of — Took precedence over that of Manasseh by virtue of Jacob’s blessing (Gen. 41:52; 48:1). The descendants of Joseph formed two of the tribes of Israel, whereas each of the other sons of Jacob was the…
Israel, Kingdom of — (B.C. 975-B.C. 722). Soon after the death of Solomon, Ahijah’s prophecy (1 Kings 11:31-35) was fulfilled, and the kingdom was rent in twain. Rehoboam, the son and successor of Solomon, was scarcely…
Jeroboam — Increase of the people. (1.) The son of Nebat (1 Kings 11:26-39), “an Ephrathite,” the first king of the ten tribes, over whom he reigned twenty-two years (B.C. 976-945). He was the son of a widow of…
Penuel — Face of God, a place not far from Succoth, on the east of the Jordan and north of the river Jabbok. It is also called “Peniel.” Here Jacob wrestled (Gen. 32:24-32) “with a man” (“the angel”, Hos.…
Beth-El · . — .
Ephraim · .Revolted from house of David — .Revolted from house of David
Jeroboam · .Subverts the religion of Moses — .Subverts the religion of Moses
Kings · Who reigned over Israel: Jeroboam — Who reigned over Israel: Jeroboam
Penuel · .City built where Jacob wrestled with the angel — .City built where Jacob wrestled with the angel
Shechem · .Rebuilt by — .Rebuilt by
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
Founding of the Kingdom of Israel. - Kg1 12:25. When Jeroboam had become king, it was his first care to give a firmer basis to his sovereignty by the fortification of Sichem and Pnuel. בּנח, to build, is used here in the sense of fortifying, because both cities had stood for a long time, and nothing is known of their having been destroyed under either Solomon or David, although the tower of Sichem had been burnt down by Abimelech (Jdg 9:49), and the tower of Pnuel had been destroyed by Gideon (Jdg 8:17). Sichem, a place well known from the time of Abraham downwards (Gen 12:6), was situated upon the mountains of Ephraim, between Mount Gerizim and Mount Ebal, and still exists under the name of…
Jeroboam’s actions in establishing his kingdom are reported in two sections, one on his building activities (12:25), the other on his false shrines and religious practices (12:26-33).
12:25 Both Shechem (12:1) and Peniel, which Jeroboam built across the Jordan River, were strategic defensive sites against the Arameans.
Rashi on 1 Kings 12:21
And the tribe of Binyomin. Who were situated on the border, because the boundaries of Yehudah and Binyomin were adjacent.
