person · P0418

Yeravam I ירבעם בן נבט

Shlomo's overseer of the house of Yosef, promised ten tribes by Achiyah HaShiloni (Achiyah HaShiloni), and first king of the northern kingdom. Fearing pilgrimage to Jerusalem would return the people to the house of David, he set golden calves at Beit El and Dan — for the Tanakh and the sages alike, the archetypal sin of causing the many to sin.

I. Who

Hebrew
ירבעם בן נבט
Also known as
Jeroboam I, Yeravam ben Nevat
Era
bible
Children
Nadav

II. When

Traditional
c. 2934–2986 AM (reigned 2964–2986, twenty-two years)
Academic
reigned c. 931–910 BCE
Lifespan (traditional)
≈52 years
Precision
approximate

V. How do we know

ClaimEvidenceConfidenceSources
When all Israel heard that Yeravam had returned, they called him to the assembly and made him king over all Israel; the days of his reign were twenty-two years, and he slept with his fathers.
Directly stated in the cited sources.
biblical ★★★★★
Saying "if this people goes up to offer in Jerusalem, their heart will return to their lord Rechavam," he made two golden calves — "here are your gods, Israel" — and set one in Beit El and one in Dan; and the thing became a sin. biblical ★★★★★
The placement (reigned 2964–2986 AM) is a schematic Mesorah Atlas reconstruction: the northern kings' regnal years stated in Kings are chained forward from the division of the kingdom in 2964 AM, with sub-year reigns counted as zero; the chain closes exactly at the fall of Shomron in 3205 AM (Chizkiyahu's sixth year, Melachim II 18:10). The cited source states the reign's length, not absolute dates.
The cited sources establish relative chronology or regnal duration; they do not state the absolute AM range.
tradition reconstruction ★★☆☆☆