Jeroboam placed calf idols in Bethel (southern Israel) and Dan (northern Israel). These locations had long religious traditions (see Genesis 12:8; 28:11–19; Judges 18:30–31). Archaeologists found a high place, an altar for pagan worship, in Dan. Bethel was where Jacob dreamed (Genesis 28:10–22). It was also where the ark of the covenant rested during the time of the judges (Judges 20:18–28) and served as a sanctuary in Samuel’s time (1 Samuel 7:16; 10:3).