Bible Strands
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.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Jeroboam stands beside an altar in Bethel to burn incense when a man of God from Judah arrives. The text records this arrival occurring precisely at the moment of Jeroboam's ritual observance.
The words — The phrase בִּ/דְבַר יְהוָה (bi/d.Var Yah.weh) translates literally as "by the word of Yahweh." This formulation explicitly grounds the prophet's presence and subsequent proclamation in divine command rather than human initiative.
The thread — The location is later identified as the tomb of "the man of God" in 2 Kings 23:17. The structural phrase "by the word of the Lord" also frames prophetic declarations in 1 Thessalonians 4:15.
Why it lands — The text establishes that prophetic authority derives from direct divine commission, not human appointment. It requires the reader to distinguish between authorized worship and unauthorized ritual practice.
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
And, behold, there came a man of God out of Judah by the word of the Lord unto Beth–el: and Jeroboam stood by the altar to burn incense.
Cross-references
- 1 Kings 12:32 And Jeroboam ordained a feast on the fifteenth day of the eighth month, like the feast that was in Judah, and he offered sacrifices on the altar; he made this offering in Bethel to sacrifice to the calves he had set up, and he installed priests in Bethel for the high places he had set up.
- 2 Kings 23:17 Then the king asked, “What is this monument I see?” And the men of the city replied, “It is the tomb of the man of God who came from Judah and proclaimed these things that you have done to the altar of Bethel.”
- 1 Thessalonians 4:15 By the word of the Lord, we declare to you that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who have fallen asleep.
- Jeremiah 25:3 “From the thirteenth year of Josiah son of Amon king of Judah until this very day—twenty-three years—the word of the LORD has come to me, and I have spoken to you again and again, but you have not listened.
- Jeremiah 32:29 And the Chaldeans who are fighting against this city will come in, set it on fire, and burn it, along with the houses of those who provoked Me to anger by burning incense to Baal on their rooftops and by pouring out drink offerings to other gods.
- Numbers 16:40 just as the LORD commanded him through Moses. This was to be a reminder to the Israelites that no outsider who is not a descendant of Aaron should approach to offer incense before the LORD, lest he become like Korah and his followers.
- 1 Kings 12:22 But the word of God came to Shemaiah the man of God:
- 1 Kings 13:5 And the altar was split apart, and the ashes poured out, according to the sign that the man of God had given by the word of the LORD.
- 1 Kings 13:9 For this is what I was commanded by the word of the LORD: ‘You must not eat bread or drink water or return by the way you came.’”
- 1 Kings 13:26 When the prophet who had brought him back from his journey heard this, he said, “It is the man of God who disobeyed the command of the LORD. Therefore the LORD has delivered him to the lion, and it has mauled him and killed him, according to the word that the LORD had spoken to him.”