Jeroboam in the Bible Encyclopedia - ISBE

jer-o-bo'-am (yarobh`am; Septuagint Hieroboam, usually assumed to have been derived from riyb and `am, and signifying "the people contend," or, "he pleads the people's cause"): The name was borne by two kings of Israel. (1) Jeroboam I, son of Nebat, an Ephraimite, and of Zeruah, a widow (1 Ki 11:26-40; 12 through 14:20). He was the first king of Israel after the disruption of the kingdom, and he reigned 22 years (937-915 BC). I. Jeroboam I 1. Sources: The history of Jeroboam is contained in 1 Ki 11:26-40; 12:1 through 14:20; 2 Ch 10:1 through 11:4; 11:14-16; 12:15; 13:3-20, and in an insertion in the Septuagint after 1 Ki 12:24 (a-z). This insertion covers about the same ground as the Massoretic Text, and the Septuagint elsewhere, with some additions and variations. The fact that it calls Jeroboam's mother a porne (harlot), and his wife the Egyptian princess Ano (compare 1 Ki 11); that Jeroboam is punished by the death of his son before he has done any wrong; that the episode with the prophet's mantle does not occur until the meeting at Shechem; that Jeroboam is not proclaimed king at all--all this proves the passage inferior to the Massoretic Text. No doubt it is a fragment of some historical work, which, after the manner of the later Midrash, has combined history and tradition, making rather free use of the historical kernel...