J E R 
JER'KIN, f. A kind of hawk. Ainfworlk .—This fhould 
J>e written gvr'iin. 
JER'KING, f. The aft of throwing with a fudden 
• motion. 
IER'NE, a name of Ireland. Strabo. 
JERO'AM, [Hebrew.] The name of a man. 
JEROBO'AM, [Ileb. a rejeftor of the people.] A man’s 
name. 
JEROBO'AM I. king of Ifrael, and the fir ft fovereign 
of that people after the defeftion of the ten tribes from 
the houfe of David, was the fon of Nebat, of the tribe of 
Ephraim. His accomplishments, and capacity for bufi- 
rrefs, recommended him to the notice of king Solomon, 
who appointed him fuperintendant of the finances and 
public works in his own tribe and that of Manaifeh. As 
that monarch had, in his old age, fuffered himfelf to be 
feduced by his foreign wives into the idolatry of their 
different countries, God was pleafed to inform him that, 
as a puniftiment for his crime, his kingdom after his 
death fhould be divided, and that a perfon who was only 
his Servant fhould reign over ten of the Ifraelitifh tribes. 
Soon afterwards the prophet Abijah was direcled to com¬ 
municate this divine determination to Jeroboam, and to an¬ 
nounce to him, that he was the perfon felected to be the 
lovereign of tire future confederacy; at the fame time al¬ 
luring him of the continuance of the regal dignity in his 
family, provided that he adhered to the worfhip and 
obedience of the true God. Whether Jeroboam difclofed 
this fecret, or the prophet, vve are not informed ; but it 
appears to have reached the ears of Solomon ; and Jero¬ 
boam, in order to avoid the king’s defigns againft his life, 
was obliged to fly into Egypt. Here he continued until 
the death of that prince, and then returned into Judea, 
before Rehoboam, the fucceffor of Solomon, had received 
the public homage of the tribes. At the time fixed for 
that ceremony, when the heads of the tribes, and among 
them Jeroboam, were affembled at Schechem, before they 
acknowledged Rehoboam as their king,- they required a 
red refs of grievances which they had fuffered under Solo¬ 
mon’s adminiftration,and a promife that the public burdens 
fhould be leffened. Rehoboam took three days to confi- 
der of an anfwer ; and then, inftead of following the ad¬ 
vice of his father’s experienced counfellors, and foothing 
the people with condeicending language and fair promifes, 
he was weakly perfuaded by his hot-headed young cour¬ 
tiers to affume a haughty tone, and to terrify them into 
obedience by threatening to govern them with greater fe- 
verity than ever his father had fhown. “ My father,” 
faid he, “ made your yoke heavy, and I will add to your 
voke; my father alfo chaftifed you with whips, but I will 
cliaftife you with fcorpions.” This inconfiderate and ty¬ 
rannical language fo exafperated the heads of tribes, that 
they difclainred all further allegiance to the houfe of Da¬ 
vid ; and the king’s friends found it neceffary to convey 
him with ail fpeed to Jerufalem, to prevent his being in- 
fulted by the revolters. The tribes of Judah and Benja¬ 
min only adhered to Rehoboam; and the other ten tribes, 
in a general affembly which was immediately convened, 
chofe Jeroboam to be their king. 
This divifion of the Hebrews into the two kingdoms 
of Judah and Ifrael, took place in the year 975 B. C. Re¬ 
hoboam immediately raifed a numerous army, with the 
defign of reducing the revolted tribes to obedience ; but, 
upon being warned by the prophet Shemaiah againft en¬ 
gaging in war with the Ifraelites, fince their defeftion came 
from God, he relinquifffed.that purpofe, and difmiffed his 
troops. Jeroboam took advantage of bis peaceable poffef- 
fion of the new-gotten kingdom, to ftrengthen himfelf at 
Shechem, which he made the principal place of his refi- 
dence ; but there was one thing that he apprehended might 
-contribute in time to reconcile the ten tribes to the houfe 
of David, which was the obligation on all the people of 
Ifrael to go to worfhip at Jerufalem during the three great 
annual feftivals. He therefore determined to lacrifice re¬ 
ligion to policy, and fet up two golden calves, one at Dan, 
Yol. X, No. 713. 
J E Ft 77? 
and the other at Bethel, to which places he commanded 
the people fo repair for the worfhip of God, without go¬ 
ing up to Jerufalem. Thus he eftablifned idolatry in bis 
kingdom, to which his people appear to have been ready 
converts ; building temples and altars in the high places, 
and making priefts from the lowed orders, having expelled 
all the Levites, and feized their cities and lands, became 
they would not ferve him in his impiety. The firlt felli - 
val which Jeroboam proclaimed, was defigned to be an 
imitation of the Mofaic feaft of tabernacles ; and, when a 
great concourie of people was affembled to obferve it at 
Bethel, and Jeroboam was Handing by the altar which he 
had erefled there, ready to offer incenfe upon it, an event 
took place which, if his heart had not been hardened 
againft conviflion, would have flopped him in his crimi¬ 
nal career. A prophet prefented himfelf, who publicly 
declared the new altar and the worfhip performed there to 
be idolatrous, and denounced its a eft ruff ion by a future 
king of Judah, named Jofiah. When Jeroboam heard the 
prophet’s threatening, he lfretched out his hand, ordering 
him to be apprehended ; but his hand became withered 
in an inftant, fo that he entirely loft the ufe of it. Upon 
the king’s humble fupplicatiou, however, the prophet 
prayed to God, and the difordered limb was immediately 
cured. 
Notwithftanding thefe prodigies, Jeroboam perfifted in 
debauching the Ifraelites from the worfhip of God, till he 
drew down a divine denunciation of deftruclion to his 
whole family. This was folemnly delivered by the prophet 
Abijah, when, upon the ficknefs of his own fon of that 
name, Jeroboam fent his’wife in hifguile to enquire of the 
prophet whether he would recover. Though Abijah was 
blind with age, he knew who it was that approached him, 
and, calling her by her name, bade her go and inform her 
liufband, that fince he had been fo ungrateful and wicked 
as to defert the only true God, and to fill Ifrael with ido¬ 
latry, not only this child fhould die, but all his pofterity 
be afterwards cut off by a new king whom God would 
raife to the throne of Ifrael, and their carcafes be de¬ 
voured by dogs and birds of prey. Even this dreadful 
prediction did not reclaim Jeroboam, who continued dur¬ 
ing the remainder of his life to exert both his authority 
and example in maintaining the worfhip of his falie dei¬ 
ties. When Jeroboam had reigned eighteen years, Abi- 
jam, who had lately fucceeded to the crown of Judah, 
affembled a large army, with which he made an incurfion 
into the Ifraelitifh territories. He was loon met by Je¬ 
roboam with a much more numerous army, and a moft 
deftruftive conflict enfued, which terminated in the de¬ 
feat of Jeroboam, who never could recover his ftrength 
again, nor prevent the conqueror from fubduihg Bethel 
and other confiderable places. Jeroboam died in the year 
954. B. C. and about two years afterwards the prophet’s 
prediction of the total deftrudtion of his pofterity was ac- 
complifhed. See 1 Kings xi.-xv, 2 Chron. x.-xiii. 
JEROBO'AM II. king of Ifrael, fucceeded his father 
Joafh in the year 823 B. C. He was a prince of great 
bravery and military fkill, and fuccefsfully followed his fa¬ 
ther’s example in refcuing his kingdom from the Syrian 
yoke. In his enterprifes he was encouraged by the pro¬ 
phets Hofea and Jonah, who were contemporaries with 
him, and foretold that he fhould complete the deliverance 
of Ifrael, which his father had begun. Accordingly, he 
conquered the Syrian capital Damafcus, and Hamath, 
with all their territories, both which had formerly be¬ 
longed to Judqh ; and all the country on the other fide 
Jordan, from Hamath to the Dead Sea. But, though 
his reign was glorious with refpecl to conquelts, it was 
difgraced by the fame idolatries- as had prevailed in the 
times of his predeceifors, as well as by injuftice, luxury, 
rapine, and other immoralities, The^prophets Hofea and 
Amos prel’ent to us dreadful pictures of the diforders 
and debauchery which prevailed in Samaria and in Ifrael 
during his government, and were fent to predict the total 
ruin which their'crimes would fhortly bring upon the 
9 L whole 
