The Meaning of 1 Kings 12:28 Explained

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.

YLT: And the king taketh counsel, and maketh two calves of gold, and saith unto them, 'Enough to you of going up to Jerusalem; lo, thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.'

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

ASV: Whereupon the king took counsel, and made two calves of gold; and he 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.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

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. 

What does 1 Kings 12:28 Mean?

Context Summary

1 Kings 12:25-33 - Man-Made Religion
Jeroboam knew better than to make these two calves. The prophet had clearly told him that the stability of his throne was contingent upon his obedience, 1 Kings 11:38. It was definitely promised that if he would hearken to do all that was commanded him, God would be with him and build him a sure house. But he was not content with this.
Fearing that if his people went up to the annual feasts at Jerusalem, they would return to their ancient loyalty to David's throne and kill him, Jeroboam set up the worship of Jehovah under the semblance of these two calves. He thus broke not the First but the Second Commandment, and sowed seeds from which his descendants were destined to reap a succession of bitter harvests. He was like the foolish man of our Lord's parable, who heard and did not; and whose house, however carefully it might have been constructed, was sapped by the rising waters. Expediency always deceives those who turn from God and rely on the devices of their own hearts. It seems that Jeroboam constituted himself priest as well as king. There is no knowing to what lengths men may drift, when they lose their moorings in God.
1 Kings 12:1-33 - Breaking Three Commandments
From a worldly point of view Naboth might have done a good stroke of business by selling his estate to. Ahab. A royal price and assured favor might have been his-but he had a conscience! Above the persuasive tones of the monarch's offer sounded the voice of God: "The land shall not be sold for ever, for the land is mine." See Leviticus 25:23; Numbers 36:7; Ezekiel 46:18.
Ahab knew perfectly well that Jezebel could not give him the property of another except by foul means, but he took pains not to inquire. Though the direct orders for Naboth's death did not come from him, yet, by his silence, he was an accomplice and an accessory; and divine justice penetrates all such specious excuses. God holds us responsible for wrongs which we do not arrest, though we have the power. The crime was blacker because of the pretext of religion, as suggested by a fast. See also 2 Kings 9:26. The blood of murdered innocence cries to God, and his requital, though delayed, is inevitable. See Revelation 6:9-10. [source]

Chapter Summary: 1 Kings 12

1  The Israelites, assembled at Shechem to crown Rehoboam,
4  by Jeroboam make a suit of relaxation unto him
6  Rehoboam, refusing the old men's counsel, answers them roughly
16  Ten tribes revolting, kill Adoram, and make Rehoboam flee
21  Rehoboam, raising an army, is forbidden by Shemaiah
25  Jeroboam strengthens himself by cities
26  and by idolatry of the two calves

What do the individual words in 1 Kings 12:28 mean?

Therefore asked advice the king and 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 Israel which brought you up from the land of Egypt
וַיִּוָּעַ֣ץ הַמֶּ֔לֶךְ וַיַּ֕עַשׂ שְׁנֵ֖י עֶגְלֵ֣י זָהָ֑ב וַיֹּ֣אמֶר אֲלֵהֶ֗ם רַב־ לָכֶם֙ מֵעֲל֣וֹת יְרוּשָׁלִַ֔ם הִנֵּ֤ה אֱלֹהֶ֙יךָ֙ יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל אֲשֶׁ֥ר הֶעֱל֖וּךָ מֵאֶ֥רֶץ מִצְרָֽיִם

וַיִּוָּעַ֣ץ  Therefore  asked  advice 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Nifal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: יׄועֵץ 
Sense: to advise, consult, give counsel, counsel, purpose, devise, plan.
הַמֶּ֔לֶךְ  the  king 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: מֶלֶךְ 
Sense: king.
וַיַּ֕עַשׂ  and  made 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: עָשָׂה 
Sense: to do, fashion, accomplish, make.
שְׁנֵ֖י  two 
Parse: Number, mdc
Root: שְׁנַיִם  
Sense: two.
עֶגְלֵ֣י  calves 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct
Root: עֵגֶל  
Sense: calf, bull-calf.
זָהָ֑ב  of  gold 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: זָהָב  
Sense: gold.
וַיֹּ֣אמֶר  and  said 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: אָמַר 
Sense: to say, speak, utter.
אֲלֵהֶ֗ם  to  the  people 
Parse: Preposition, third person masculine plural
Root: אֶל  
Sense: to, toward, unto (of motion).
רַב־  it  is  too  much 
Parse: Adverb
Root: רַב 
Sense: much, many, great.
לָכֶם֙  for  you 
Parse: Preposition, second person masculine plural
מֵעֲל֣וֹת  to  go  up 
Parse: Preposition-m, Verb, Qal, Infinitive construct
Root: סָלַק 
Sense: to go up, ascend, climb.
יְרוּשָׁלִַ֔ם  to  Jerusalem 
Parse: Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: יְרוּשָׁלַםִ  
Sense: the chief city of Palestine and capital of the united kingdom and the nation of Judah after the split.
הִנֵּ֤ה  Here  are 
Parse: Interjection
Root: הִנֵּה  
Sense: behold, lo, see, if.
אֱלֹהֶ֙יךָ֙  your  gods 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct, second person masculine singular
Root: אֱלֹהִים  
Sense: (plural).
יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל  Israel 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יִשְׂרָאֵל  
Sense: the second name for Jacob given to him by God after his wrestling with the angel at Peniel.
הֶעֱל֖וּךָ  brought  you  up 
Parse: Verb, Hifil, Perfect, third person common plural, second person masculine singular
Root: סָלַק 
Sense: to go up, ascend, climb.
מֵאֶ֥רֶץ  from  the  land 
Parse: Preposition-m, Noun, feminine singular construct
Root: אֶרֶץ  
Sense: land, earth.
מִצְרָֽיִם  of  Egypt 
Parse: Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: מִצְרַיִם  
Sense: a country at the northeastern section of Africa, adjacent to Palestine, and through which the Nile flows adj Egyptians = “double straits”.