1 Kings 12:32

“And Jeroboam ordained a feast in the eighth month, on the fifteenth day of the month, like unto the feast that is in Judah, etc.] The feast of tabernacles, which was on the fifteenth day of the seventh month; this was done chiefly for the sake of an alteration; though Abarbinel thinks, because the fruits of the land were not so soon ripe nor so soon gathered, in the northern parts of the land, as nearer Jerusalem, he judged this month the fittest for the feast of ingathering the fruits; and he might hope to get more people to come to his feast, when all were gathered in: and he offered upon the altar (so he did in Bethel), sacrificing unto the calves that he had made: this he did by his…”

“A feast - Intended as a substitute for the Feast of tabernacles (marginal reference “c”). It may also have assumed the character of a feast of dedication, held at the same time, after the example of Solomon 1 Kings 8:2. His object in changing the month from the seventh to the eighth, and yet keeping the day of the month, is not clear. Perhaps it was on account of the later vintage of the more northern regions. It is remarkable that Josephus places the scene in the “seventh” month. He therefore, was not aware that the people of Israel kept the feast of tabernacles a month later than their brethren of Judah. The expression “he offered upon the altar” (see the margin and Exodus 20:26) shows…”

“A feast - The feast of tabernacles. So he would keep God's feast, not in God's time, which was the fifteenth day of the seventh month, and so onward, Lev 23:34, but on the fifteenth day of the eighth month. And this alteration he made, either, to keep up the difference between his subjects, and those of Judah as by the differing manners, so by the distinct times of their worship. Or, lest he should seem directly to oppose the God of Israel, (who had in a special manner obliged all the people to go up to Jerusalem at that time,) by requiring their attendance to celebrate the feast elsewhere, at the same time. Or, to engage as many persons as possibly he could, to come to his feast; which they…”

“12:32-33 Replacing the Festival of Shelters, Israel’s crowning ceremonial feast in the seventh month, with the festival in Bethel also violated the law (Deut 16:13-15). The imitation observance one month later during the eighth month may have coincided with the end of the Canaanite agricultural year. Jeroboam’s false religious practices led to Israel’s downfall (2 Kgs 17:22). • Jeroboam’s offering of sacrifices on the altar at Bethel set a bad precedent in spiritual leadership.”

“like unto: Kg1 8:2, Kg1 8:5; Lev 23:33, Lev 23:34-44; Num. 29:12-40; Eze 43:8; Mat 15:8, Mat 15:9 offered upon the altar: or, went up to the altar, sacrificing. or, to sacrifice. he placed. Amo 7:10-13 3 Kings (1 Kings) 12:33”