1 Kings 12 28

1 Kings 12:28 kjv

Whereupon the king took counsel, and made two calves of gold, and said unto them, It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem: behold thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.

1 Kings 12:28 nkjv

Therefore the king asked advice, made two calves of gold, and said to the people, "It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem. Here are your gods, O Israel, which brought you up from the land of Egypt!"

1 Kings 12:28 niv

After seeking advice, the king made two golden calves. He said to the people, "It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem. Here are your gods, Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt."

1 Kings 12:28 esv

So the king took counsel and made two calves of gold. And he said to the people, "You have gone up to Jerusalem long enough. Behold your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt."

1 Kings 12:28 nlt

So on the advice of his counselors, the king made two gold calves. He said to the people, "It is too much trouble for you to worship in Jerusalem. Look, Israel, these are the gods who brought you out of Egypt!"

1 Kings 12 verses

1 Kings 12 28 Meaning

After the division of the kingdom, King Jeroboam, seeking to secure his reign and prevent his new subjects from returning their allegiance to the Davidic dynasty in Jerusalem, took counsel. He then manufactured two golden calves, placing one in Bethel and the other in Dan. He deceptively presented these idols to the people, proclaiming that they were "your gods, O Israel, who brought you up from the land of Egypt," thereby directing their worship away from the true God and His prescribed place of worship in Jerusalem. This act was a calculated religious and political strategy to establish an alternative form of worship, directly challenging God's covenant, the central sanctuary, and the singular nature of His being.

1 Kings 12 28 Context

This verse follows the political and religious schism of the united monarchy of Israel. After Solomon's death, the people demanded a lighter yoke from his son Rehoboam. Rehoboam's foolish refusal led to the secession of ten northern tribes, who crowned Jeroboam as their king. While God had explicitly promised Jeroboam a lasting dynasty if he obeyed His commandments (1 Ki 11:37-38), Jeroboam chose political pragmatism over divine instruction. Fearing that annual pilgrimages to Jerusalem, the central worship site in Judah, would shift his subjects' loyalty back to Rehoboam, Jeroboam strategically introduced a new, corrupt religious system. His action in 1 Kings 12:28 initiates a cycle of sin that plagued the Northern Kingdom (Israel) throughout its existence, ultimately contributing to its downfall. This verse marks the profound moment where Jeroboam consolidates his power by instituting idolatry, replicating the infamous golden calf sin from the wilderness.

Word Analysis

• So the king: Refers to Jeroboam, recently established as king over the ten northern tribes. This phrase underscores his authority, misused for a wicked purpose.
• took counsel: (Hebrew: נוֹעָץ - no'ats) - This indicates deliberation, not an impulsive act. Crucially, Jeroboam sought human advice (1 Ki 12:6-11 mentions Rehoboam's counsel), not divine counsel through prophets or the Lord, revealing a lack of faith and reliance on worldly wisdom for security.
• and made: (Hebrew: וַיַּעַשׂ - vayya'as) - Implies active creation, a direct fabrication of substitute gods.
• two calves of gold: (Hebrew: עֶגְלֵי זָהָב - egley zahav) - This is the central, shocking element, directly paralleling the sin of Aaron in Exodus 32:4. Gold signifies perceived value and permanence. The plural "calves" indicates an establishment of idolatry in multiple strategic locations, Bethel and Dan, encompassing his new kingdom geographically. These may have been seen as pedestals for an invisible YHWH or representations of Canaanite fertility gods (Baal) or Egyptian bull cults (Apis).
• and said to the people: A public proclamation, intended to legitimize his new religious policy and convince the populace.
• "It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem.": (Hebrew: רַב לָכֶם עֲלוֹת יְרוּשָׁלַם - rav lakhem 'alot Yerushalayim) - Jeroboam frames his policy as a benevolent provision for the people, alleviating a burden ("too much"). This statement is disingenuous, masking a political motive. "Go up" ('alot) refers to the obligatory pilgrimages for the annual feasts (Passover, Weeks, Tabernacles) mandated by the Law, where all males were to appear before the Lord in Jerusalem.
• "Behold your gods, O Israel,": (Hebrew: הִנֵּה אֱלֹהֶיךָ יִשְׂרָאֵל - hinneh 'eloheykha Yisra'el) - A command to see and acknowledge these idols as divine. "Eloheykha" (your gods) uses the plural of elohim, a common Hebrew word for "God" or "gods," which can be plural in form but singular in meaning when referring to YHWH. However, here, given the golden calves, it intentionally presents alternative deities or a corrupt representation of YHWH. The use of "Israel" specifically addresses the Northern Kingdom, establishing a distinct religious identity.
• "who brought you up from the land of Egypt!": This is the profound theological deception and blasphemy. Jeroboam attributes the unique salvific act of YHWH (the Exodus) to these fabricated idols. The singular verb "brought up" (הֶעֱלֶךָ - he'elkha) grammatically suggests he refers to a singular divine entity (possibly YHWH, but in an unauthorized form), yet visually presented as two calf-idols. This statement directly mirrors Aaron's statement in Exodus 32:4, repeating the gravest sin against YHWH and His covenant.

1 Kings 12 28 Commentary

1 Kings 12:28 marks the decisive spiritual downfall of the Northern Kingdom, directly imitating and escalating the sin of the golden calf at Mount Sinai. Jeroboam's actions were driven by a profound lack of trust in God's promise to him and an overriding fear for his newly established throne. Instead of allowing God to secure his reign, he sought to control it through political manipulation masked as religious reform. By setting up alternative worship sites in Bethel and Dan and commissioning golden calves, Jeroboam committed several severe transgressions. He violated the first and second commandments against other gods and graven images (Ex 20:3-5), defied the command for centralized worship in Jerusalem (Deu 12), and directly associated God's mighty acts of redemption (the Exodus) with man-made idols. This was not a reintroduction of foreign polytheism per se, but an attempt to maintain a semblance of Yahweh worship through forbidden means, corrupting it into syncretism. This calculated political expediency initiated a pattern of idolatry and apostasy that plagued the Northern Kingdom for over two centuries, ultimately leading to its destruction by Assyria.

Bonus Section

The locations chosen by Jeroboam for his golden calves were strategically significant:

• Bethel: Meaning "house of God," this was an ancient and holy site where Jacob had a vision of a ladder to heaven (Gen 28:10-22) and God renewed His covenant with him (Gen 35:9-15). By placing a calf here, Jeroboam hijacked its spiritual legacy and sacredness for his idolatrous purposes, giving his corrupt worship an air of tradition and legitimacy.
• Dan: Situated in the far north of Jeroboam's kingdom, Dan ensured that pilgrims from all parts of his territory had a nearby "holy" site, removing any incentive to travel south to Jerusalem. Dan also had a pre-existing history of illicit worship, as seen in the story of Micah and the migrating Danites (Jud 18).This deliberate institutionalization of idolatry fundamentally altered the religious landscape of Israel, making the split of the kingdoms not merely political but also deeply theological, leading faithful priests and Levites to flee to Judah (2 Chr 11:13-16). Jeroboam's sin became the yardstick by which subsequent Northern Kingdom kings were judged (e.g., "walked in the sins of Jeroboam").