Then Jeroboam built Shechem in mount Ephraim, and dwelt there; and went out from there, and built Penuel.
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George Leo Haydock
AD 1849
Built, or "had built "while Roboam was preparing for his invasion. (Salien)
Sichem and Phanuel had been ruined by Abimelech, and by Gedeon, Judges viii. 17., and ix. 45. (Calmet)
By means of these fortresses, he secured both sides of the Jordan. (Haydock)
Jeroboam afterwards fixed his residence at Thirsa, where the court was kept, till Amri built Samaria.
We have learned in the books of Kings that under Rehoboam, the son of Solomon, Jeroboam, the son of Nabat, made a division among the people and led ten tribes into Samaria. The tribes of Judah and Benjamin, however, remained under the rule of Rehoboam; and many likewise from the tribe of Levi who were dwelling in Jerusalem as priests and Levites—as it is written in Paralipomenon—returned to the temple of God, that is, to Jerusalem. Thus, there were three tribes in Judea: Judah itself the royal tribe, and Benjamin, and later the Levites from the various tribes, when they had come to the temple. They who were in Samaria had a king from the tribe of Ephraim. Just as they who held sway in Judea had a king from the tribe of Judah and from the family of David, so they who prevailed in Samaria had a king from the tribe of Ephraim, and their kings were called Ephraim. - "Homilies on the Psalms 11 (Ps 77 [78])"
