Bible Strands
1 Kings 12:33
On the fifteenth day of the eighth month, a month of his own choosing, Jeroboam offered sacrifices on the altar he had set up in Bethel. So he ordained a feast for the Israelites, offered sacrifices on the altar, and burned incense.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Jeroboam acts as ruler over the northern tribes, instituting a rival worship system at Bethel on a date of his own selection. He initiates a national feast and altar rituals to consolidate political control and replace Jerusalem's temple.
The words — The Hebrew verb וַיַּעַל (va.ya‘al) literally means "he caused to go up" or "he offered up," describing Jeroboam’s ritual ascent to the altar. The phrase עַל הַמִּזְבֵּחַ (‘al ha.mizbe‘ach) specifies that these actions occur directly upon the altar he himself constructed in Bethel.
The thread — This unauthorized altar ritual parallels Saul’s premature sacrifice in 1 Samuel 13:12 and directly provokes the prophetic judgment recorded in 1 Kings 13:1. The narrative contrasts Jeroboam’s self-ordained feast with the commanded pilgrimage festivals of Judah.
Why it lands — The text demands recognition that religious innovation driven by political convenience replaces divine ordinance. Readers must observe how self-appointed worship structures directly oppose established covenant boundaries.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
So he offered upon the altar which he had made in Beth–el the fifteenth day of the eighth month, even in the month which he had devised of his own heart; and ordained a feast unto the children of Israel: and he offered upon the altar, and burnt incense.
Cross-references
- 1 Kings 13:1 Suddenly, as Jeroboam was standing beside the altar to burn incense, there came a man of God from Judah to Bethel by the word of the LORD.
- Numbers 15:39 These will serve as tassels for you to look at, so that you may remember all the commandments of the LORD, that you may obey them and not prostitute yourselves by following your own heart and your own eyes.
- 1 Samuel 13:12 I thought, ‘Now the Philistines will descend upon me at Gilgal, and I have not sought the favor of the LORD.’ So I felt compelled to offer the burnt offering.”
- 2 Chronicles 26:6 Uzziah went out to wage war against the Philistines, and he tore down the walls of Gath, Jabneh, and Ashdod. Then he built cities near Ashdod and among the Philistines.
- Psalms 106:39 They defiled themselves by their actions and prostituted themselves by their deeds.
- Isaiah 29:13 Therefore the Lord said: “These people draw near to Me with their mouths and honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me. Their worship of Me is but rules taught by men.
- Matthew 15:6 he need not honor his father or mother with it. Thus you nullify the word of God for the sake of your tradition.
- Mark 7:13 Thus you nullify the word of God by the tradition you have handed down. And you do so in many such matters.”