Then Jeroboam built Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim and lived there. And from there he went out and built Penuel.
Parallel translations
- WEB Then Jeroboam built Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim, and lived in it; and he went out from there, and built Penuel.
- KJV Then Jeroboam built Shechem in mount Ephraim, and dwelt therein; and went out from thence, and built Penuel.
- NKJV Then Jeroboam built Shechem in the mountains of Ephraim, and dwelt there. Also he went out from there and built Penuel.
- NASB Then Jeroboam built Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim, and lived there. And he went out from there and built Penuel.
- NLT Jeroboam then built up the city of Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim, and it became his capital. Later he went and built up the town of Peniel.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Jeroboam fortifies Shechem and Penuel as he establishes his new kingdom. He secures his realm.
Overview
Jeroboam builds up Shechem in Ephraim and Penuel, strengthening his hold on the northern territory. These fortifications mark the practical establishment of the northern kingdom. Yet his next steps reveal that his trust lay in his own schemes rather than in the God who gave him the throne.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 11
- Judg 8:17He also pulled down the tower of Penuel and killed the men of the city.
- Judg 8:8From there he went up to Penuel and asked the same from them, but the men of Penuel gave the same response as the men of Succoth.
- Judg 9:45–49And all that day Abimelech fought against the city until he had captured it and killed its people. Then he demolished the city and sowed it with salt.
- Gen 32:30–31So Jacob named the place Peniel, saying, “Indeed, I have seen God face to face, and yet my life was spared.”
- 1 Kgs 15:17Baasha king of Israel went to war against Judah and fortified Ramah to prevent anyone from leaving or entering the territory of Asa king of Judah.
- 2 Chr 11:5–12Rehoboam continued to live in Jerusalem, and he built up cities for defense in Judah.
- 1 Kgs 12:1Then Rehoboam went to Shechem, for all Israel had gone there to make him king.
- Judg 9:1Now Abimelech son of Jerubbaal went to his mother’s brothers at Shechem and said to them and to all the clan of his mother,
- 1 Kgs 9:17–18So Solomon rebuilt Gezer, Lower Beth-horon,
- 1 Kgs 16:24He bought the hill of Samaria from Shemer for two talents of silver and built a city there, calling it Samaria after the name of Shemer, who had owned the hill.
- 1 Kgs 9:15This is the account of the forced labor that King Solomon imposed to build the house of the LORD, his own palace, the supporting terraces, and the wall of Jerusalem, as well as Hazor, Megiddo, and Gezer.
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Christ at the center
Solomon's glory, wisdom, and temple where God's presence dwells are a shadow of the greater Son of David — 'one greater than Solomon is here' — and of the true Temple, Christ himself.
How 1 Kings 12:25 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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