1 Kings 12:25

Then Ieroboam built Shechem in mount Ephraim, and dwelt therein, and went out from thence, and built Penuel. 1 Kings 12:25 (KJV)

After Solomon’s death his son Rehoboam succeeded him. The people of Israel approached Rehoboam asking for a lighter yoke and less oppressive labor than that imposed by Solomon. Rehoboam first consulted the older advisers who had served his father, but he rejected their counsel and followed the advice of his peers. This choice provoked a rebellion; ten of the twelve tribes rejected his rule, leaving him with only Judah and Benjamin.

In the wake of the division, Jeroboam, a former servant of Solomon from the tribe of Ephraim, emerged as the leader of the northern tribes. 1 Kings 12:25 records that Jeroboam built Shechem in Mount Ephraim and dwelt there, and from that place he went out and built Penuel. Shechem lay in the central region of Israel between the mountains of Gerizim and Ebal and had long been a site of covenant ceremonies and tribal gatherings (see Joshua 8). The name Penuel means “the face of God,” recalling the earlier biblical encounter where Jacob wrestled with God. Scholars generally locate Penuel within the northern kingdom, though its precise site remains uncertain.

Jeroboam’s establishment of Shechem and Penuel marked a deliberate move to create alternative centers of worship and authority apart from Jerusalem, the designated place of worship for Israel. Later in the chapter he erected golden calves at Bethel and Dan, instituting a form of worship that violated God’s commandments. This idolatrous shift led to spiritual decline in the northern kingdom of Israel.