For when he tore Israel away from the house of David, they made Jeroboam son of Nebat king. And Jeroboam drove Israel away from following the LORD and made them commit great sin — the theological explanation for Israel's fall traces back to the schism: when Israel separated from the Davidic house (the kingdom split in 1 Kings 12), it appointed Jeroboam (יָרָבְעָם, *Yarav'am*) as king. Jeroboam's act—"drove Israel away from following the LORD" (וַיִּדְּחֵק אֶת־יִשְׂרָאֵל אַחֲרֵי הַבְּעָלִים, *way-yiddchek et-Yisrael achare ha-Ba'alim*)—establishes the institutional apostasy. This theological interpretation of the schism as rebellion against the Davidic covenant becomes the paradigm: Israel's fall traces to Jeroboam's rebellion, perpetuated by his successors.

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