1 Kings 12:33

1Ki 12:33 So he offered upon the altar which he had made in Bethel 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.

Ver. 33. So he offered upon the altar.] As he usurped the kingdom, so now he invadeth the high priesthood: {a} as did likewise Uzziah. {2Ch 26:16} Julius Caesar wrote to his mother, Hodie videbis me aut Pontificem aut exulem. Today you will see me as Pontiff or exileed. {b} Charles V also sought once to make himself Pope, that he might get both the swords into his own hand. Ambition rideth without reins.

Which he had devised of his own heart.] Hence this new day is called the day of the king, by the prophet Hosea, who doth often thunder against this idolatry. Sed surdo fabulam.

{a} Josephus.

{b} Sueton.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

1Ki 12:33. Which he had devised of his own heart — Out of his own will and pleasure, against the express ordinance of God. And ordained a feast — To be observed, it is likely, every year in Beth-el, as well as in Dan, as the feast of tabernacles was at Jerusalem, like which it also lasted many days. And he offered upon the altar, and burned incense — Thus performing the highest part of the priest’s office.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Verse 33. He offered upon the altar] Jeroboam probably performed the functions of high priest himself, that he might in his own person condense the civil and ecclesiastical power.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(33) So he offered upon the altar.—The repetition of this verse is accounted for by its belonging properly in sense to the next chapter, opening the story of the mission of the “man of God from Judah.” The idea of the verse would be best conveyed by rendering the verbs of this verse in the imperfect tense: “So Jeroboam was offering,” &c.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

33. which he had devised of his own heart] This is a translation of the Keri, i.e. the marginal reading of the Hebrew. The Kethib (i.e. the written text) would be rendered ‘apart,’ and if it be correct must be understood, as intimating that the king consulted nobody, which comes much to the same as what we now translate. The difference to the eye between מלבד = ‘apart,’ and מלבו = ‘from his heart’ is very slight.

and he offered upon the altar, and burnt incense] The marginal note of the A. V. points out that the last verb is in the infinitive. By translating with R.V. this is made apparent in the text and went up unto the altar to burn incense.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

This verse belongs to 1 Kings 13 rather than to 1 Kings 12, being intended as an introduction to what follows.

Which he had devised of his own heart - The entire system of Jeroboam receives its condemnation in these words. His main fault was that he left a ritual and a worship where all was divinely authorized, for ceremonies and services which were wholly of his own devising. Not being a prophet, he had no authority to introduce religious innovations. Not having received any commission to establish new forms, he had no right to expect that any religious benefit would accrue from them. (See 1Ki 12:26 note.)

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

To: literally, "up on," (super) as at the end of the verse. (Haydock) --- The altars were very high and large. (Calmet) --- Month. Septuagint add, "on the festival which," &c. (Menochius) --- Heart. Hebrew reads millibod, (præter) instead of molbu, (ex corde suo.) Some manuscripts retain the latter word, as it is printed also in the marginal keri. Leusden tells us, we are by no means to say it is the truer reading, because then the text must be allowed to be corrupted; but it only explains what is meant by præter, "besides." A marvellous explanation! and perhaps it is only to be paralleled by ei explained by non. (Kennicott) --- Jeroboam has a mind to do honour to his new worship, and unites in his own person the sacerdotal and regal dignity, as the Roman emperors did. (Calmet) --- Incense. Septuagint, "to sacrifice." (Haydock) --- From this period, many learned men date the 390 years of the iniquity of Israel, Ezechiel iv. 5. (Du Hamel)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

Which he had devised of his own heart; which he appointed without any warrant from God, which was superstition. Compare Jer 7:31.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

So he offered Heb. went up, as before. This verse is really the introduction to the history of the next chapter upon the altar which he had made in Bethel the fifteenth day of the eighth month, even in the month which he had devised Josephus (Ant. 7:8. 5) seems unaware that this new feast was kept at a different date from the true Feast of Tabernacles. But these words are decisive of his own heart The Cethib has dBoLmi by which Maurer and Keil understand dbLmi (seoreum." But qu.) But the Keri wOBLmi is every way to be preferred, So LXX, ajpoav auJtou. Similarly,; (Neh_6:8) and ordered rather, kept, celebrated a feast unto Heb. for the children of Israel: and he offered went up upon the altar, and burnt incense Heb. to burn, etc. The context seems to imply that it was not incense, or not incense only, but the sacrifice, or sacrificial parts of the victim, that the king burned. See on. 1Ki_13:3 (vD) And this meaning is justified by Lev_1:9, 1Sa_2:16; Amo_4:5, where the same word is used. It cannot be denied, however, that the word is generally used of incense, and it is very probable that both this and sacrifices were offered by Jeroboam on the same altar. (cf. 1Ki_11:8) We may perhaps see in Jeroboam"s ministering in person, not only the design to invest the new ordinance with exceptional interest and splendour, but also the idea of encouraging his new priests to enter on their unauthorized functions with. out fear. The history, or even the traditions, of Nadab and Abihu (Le 10) and of Korah and his company, (Num_16:40) and the threatenings of the law (Num_18:7, Num_18:22, cf., 2Ch_26:20) may well have made them hesitate. To allay their fears the king undertakes to offer the first of the sacrifices. And that their fears of a Divine interposition were not groundless the sequel shows.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Devised - Which he appointed without any warrant from God.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

went up to the altar

"Went up" here is an idiom for going to a sacred place to worship since these altars were located on high places. AT: "offered sacrifices on the altar" (See: Idiom)

in the month he had planned in his own mind

"in the month that he had determined"

translationWords

Jeroboam

mind

Israel

incense

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

Of the eighth month. He expounded to them that this was the month of the harvest, and was, therefore, the proper time for the festival to be.

He thought up out of his own heart. An expression of falsehood, controver, in O.F.

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.