The glory of Solomon’s kingdom was short-lived as a dream. After his death, the regions of Judea and Israel were torn permanently into two separate kingdoms. Jeroboam rose to power as the first King of Israel, and established a new capital apart from Jerusalem. Though he was initially perceived as a righteous man, Jeroboam’s later actions caused him to be regarded as a figure of evil in Jewish tradition.
The Book of Kings tells of a fateful moment in Jewish history, when the prophet Ahiya tore a cloak in pieces to illustrate the impending division of the united kingdom into two separate kingdoms—Judea, which included Jerusalem, and Israel. He foretold that the ruler of the kingdom of Israel would be Jeroboam, a leader of conscripted laborers from the tribe of Ephraim.
Ahiya’s prophecy impelled Jeroboam to conspire against King Solomon. When his conspiracy came to light, Jeroboam was forced to flee to Egypt to escape the wrath of the king.
When Solomon died, his son Rehoboam succeeded him. Solomon’s resplendent kingdom had been constructed on massive building projects—accomplished through forced labor of people who were conscripted from the northern region of Israel. Taxes were heavy in order to sustain the wealth of Solomon’s sumptuous court, where his officials resided in luxury.
When Rehoboam refused to lower taxes and reduce conscriptions—and in fact, rashly promised that he would be an even harsher ruler than his father—the people of Israel rebelled, and Jeroboam was anointed their king. His answer to Jerusalem was the city of Tirza, which he made the capital of his kingdom of Israel. The two kingdoms went on to war bitterly with one another for the next 50 years.
At first, Jeroboam was considered a righteous man. According to Jewish tradition, his downfall came when he realized that during festivals, Jews from his kingdom would want to journey to Jerusalem to worship at the Holy Temple. Jeroboam is said to have feared that the supremacy of the Holy Temple as a place of worship would erode his authority, since it was situated in the rival kingdom of Judea.
Desperate to prevent people from going to Jerusalem for the festivals, Jeroboam performed the act which has made his name a synonym for corruption: he erected golden calves in the cities of Dan and Beth El, in order to divert Jews to worship there instead of in Jerusalem.
Consequently, many Jews worshiped the golden calves. In Judaism such an act is considered idolatry, a sin punishable by death. By causing the people Israel to sin, Jeroboam went from being considered a righteous king to a figure of evil who was surely destined for hell.
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