And he set the one in Bethel, and the other put he in Dan.
And he set the one in Bethel, and the other put he in Dan.
And he set the one in Beth-el, and the other put he in Dan.
And he put one in Beth-el and the other in Dan.
And he set the one in Beth-el, and the other he placed in Dan.
He set the one in Bethel, and the other put he in Dan.
And he set the one in Beth-el, and the other put he in Dan.
One in Beth-el, and the other - in Dan - One at the southern and the other at the northern extremity of the land. Solomon's idolatry had prepared the people for Jeroboam's abominations!
In the first place, Jeroboam consulted the convenience of his subjects, who would thus in no case have very far to go in order to reach one or the other sanctuary. Further, he avoided the danger of reminding them continually that they had no ark - a danger which would have been imminent, had the two cherubs been placed together in one shrine.
He selected Bethel (in the south) for one of his seats of worship, on account of its pre-eminent sanctity. (See the marginal reference; Judges 20:26-28; 1 Samuel 7:16.)
The north of Palestine did not furnish a spot possessing an equally sacred character, but still Dan had to some extent the character of a "holy city" (marginal reference).
12:29 Beth - el, and c. - Which two places he chose for his peoples conveniency; Beth - el being in the southern, and Dan in the northern parts of his kingdom.