Topical Encyclopedia
1. Meaning and Etymology:The name "Abijah" (Hebrew: אֲבִיָּה, ʾĂḇîyāh) means "Yahweh is my Father" or "My Father is Yahweh." It is a theophoric name, incorporating the divine name Yahweh, reflecting the religious culture of ancient Israel.
2. Abijah in the Old Testament:A. Abijah, Son of Rehoboam:Abijah was the son of Rehoboam and the second king of the southern kingdom of Judah. His reign is recorded in
1 Kings 15:1-8 and
2 Chronicles 13. Abijah reigned for three years, from approximately 913 to 911 BC. He is noted for his war against Jeroboam I, the king of Israel. In
2 Chronicles 13, Abijah delivered a speech on Mount Zemaraim, emphasizing the legitimacy of Davidic rule and the faithfulness of Judah to the worship of Yahweh, contrasting it with the idolatry of the northern kingdom. Despite his military success,
1 Kings 15:3 notes that "he walked in all the sins his father had committed before him," indicating his failure to fully commit to the ways of Yahweh.
B. Abijah, Son of Samuel:Abijah was one of the two sons of the prophet Samuel, mentioned in
1 Samuel 8:1-3. Along with his brother Joel, Abijah served as a judge in Beersheba. However, they were corrupt, taking bribes and perverting justice, which led to the Israelites' demand for a king to rule over them, ultimately resulting in the anointing of Saul as the first king of Israel.
C. Abijah, Son of Jeroboam:This Abijah was the son of Jeroboam I, the first king of the northern kingdom of Israel. His account is found in
1 Kings 14:1-18. Abijah fell ill, and Jeroboam sent his wife in disguise to the prophet Ahijah to inquire about the boy's fate. Ahijah prophesied that Abijah would die, but he also noted that Abijah was the only member of Jeroboam's house in whom the Lord found something good.
D. Other References:· Abijah is also mentioned as a priestly division in
1 Chronicles 24:10, where it is listed as the eighth division of the priesthood established by King David. This division is later referenced in the New Testament in
Luke 1:5, where Zechariah, the father of John the Baptist, is described as belonging to the priestly division of Abijah.
3. Theological and Historical Significance:The various individuals named Abijah in the Bible reflect different aspects of Israel's history and religious life. The name itself underscores the centrality of Yahweh in the identity and faith of the Israelites. The accounts of Abijah, son of Rehoboam, and Abijah, son of Jeroboam, highlight the political and religious tensions between the divided kingdoms of Israel and Judah. The narrative of Abijah, son of Samuel, illustrates the challenges of leadership and the transition from the period of the judges to the monarchy. The priestly division of Abijah signifies the organized worship and service in the temple, which played a crucial role in the religious life of the Jewish people.
Hitchcock's Bible Names Dictionary
Abijahthe Lord is my father
ATS Bible Dictionary
Abijah1. Called, inLuke 1:5, Abia; founder of a family among the posterity of Aaron. When David divided the priests into twenty-four courses, to perform the temple-service, in turn, the eighth class was called after him,1 Chronicles 24:10. To this class of course Zacharias belonged.
2. Son of Jeroboam, the first king of Israel. He died young, and much beloved and lamented, for in him there was found some good thing towards the Lord,1 Kings 14:1-18
3. Son of Rehoboam, the first king of Judah; called in,1 Kings 22:53, Abijam. He came to the throne A.M. 3046, and reigned only three years. In war with Jeroboam he gained a signal victory,2 Chronicles 13:1-22; yet he followed the evil example of his father. His mother Maachah, or Michaiah, was probably the granddaughter of Absalom,1 Kings 15:22 Chronicles 11:20 13:2
4. The mother of King Hezekiah,2 Chronicles 29:1.
Easton's Bible Dictionary
Father (i.e., "possessor or worshipper") of Jehovah.
(1.)1 Chronicles 7:8.
(2.)1 Chronicles 2:24.
(3.) The second son of Samuel (1 Samuel 8:2;1 Chronicles 6:28). His conduct, along with that of his brother, as a judge in Beer-sheba, to which office his father had appointed him, led to popular discontent, and ultimately provoked the people to demand a royal form of government.
(4.) A descendant of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, a chief of one of the twenty-four orders into which the priesthood was divided by David (1 Chronicles 24:10). The order of Abijah was one of those which did not return from the Captivity (Ezra 2:36-39;Nehemiah 7:39-42;12:1).
(5.) The son of Rehoboam, whom he succeeded on the throne of Judah (1 Chronicles 3:10). He is also called Abijam (1 Kings 14:31;15:1-8). He began his three years' reign (2 Chronicles 12:16;13:1, 2) with a strenuous but unsuccessful effort to bring back the ten tribes to their allegiance. His address to "Jeroboam and all Israel," before encountering them in battle, is worthy of being specially noticed (2 Chronicles 13:5-12). It was a very bloody battle, no fewer than 500,000 of the army of Israel having perished on the field. He is described as having walked "in all the sins of his father" (1 Kings 15:3;2 Chronicles 11:20-22). It is said in1 Kings 15:2 that "his mother's name was Maachah, the daughter of Abishalom;" but in2 Chronicles 13:2 we read, "his mother's name was Michaiah, the daughter of Uriel of Gibeah." The explanation is that Maachah is just a variation of the name Michaiah, and that Abishalom is probably the same as Absalom, the son of David. It is probable that "Uriel of Gibeah" married Tamar, the daughter of Absalom (2 Samuel 14:27), and by her had Maachah. The word "daughter" in1 Kings 15:2 will thus, as it frequently elsewhere does, mean grand-daughter.
(6.) A son of Jeroboam, the first king of Israel. On account of his severe illness when a youth, his father sent his wife to consult the prophet Ahijah regarding his recovery. The prophet, though blind with old age, knew the wife of Jeroboam as soon as she approached, and under a divine impulse he announced to her that inasmuch as in Abijah alone of all the house of Jeroboam there was found "some good thing toward the Lord," he only would come to his grave in peace. As his mother crossed the threshold of the door on her return, the youth died, and "all Israel mourned for him" (1 Kings 14:1-18).
(7.) The daughter of Zechariah (2 Chronicles 29:1; Comp.Isaiah 8:2), and afterwards the wife of Ahaz. She is also called Abi (2 Kings 18:2).
(8.) One of the sons of Becher, the son of Benjamin (1 Chronicles 7:8). "Abiah," A.V.
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
ABIJAHa-bi'-ja ('abhiyah or 'abhiyahu (2 Chronicles 13:20, 21), "my father is Yahweh," or "Yahweh is father"): The name of six or more men and two women in the Old Testament.
(1) The seventh son of Becher the son of Benjamin (1 Chronicles 7:8).
(2) The second son of the prophet Samuel (1 Samuel 8:21 Chronicles 6:28 (6:13)).
(3) The eighth among "the holy captains and captains of God" appointed by lot by David in connection with the priestly courses (1 Chronicles 24:10). Compare "Zacharias of the course of Abijah" (Luke 1:5).
(4) A son of Jeroboam I of Israel (1 Kings 14:1-18). The narrative describes his sickness and his mother's visit to the prophet Ahijah. He is spoken of as the one member of the house of Jeroboam in whom there was "found some good thing toward Yahweh." With his death the hope of the dynasty perished.
(5) The son and successor of Rehoboam king of Judah (1 Chronicles 3:102 Chronicles 11:20-14:1). As to the variant name Abijam (1 Kings 14:31;1 Kings 15:1, 7, 8) see ABIJAM.
The statements concerning Abijah's mother afford great opportunity for a person who is interested in finding discrepancies in the Bible narrative. She is said to have been Maacah the daughter of Absalom (1 Kings 15:22 Chronicles 11:20, 21, 22). As more than 50 years elapsed between the adolescence of Absalom and the accession of Rehoboam, the suggestion at once emerges that she may have been Absalom's daughter in the sense of being his granddaughter. But Maacha the daughter of Absalom was the mother of Asa, Abijam's son and successor (1 Kings 15:10, 132 Chronicles 15:16). Further we are explicitly told that Absalom had three sons and one daughter (2 Samuel 14:27). It is inferred that the three sons died young, inasmuch as Absalom before his death built him a monument because he had no son (2 Samuel 18:18). The daughter was distinguished for her beauty, but her name was Tamar, not Maacah. Finally, the narrative tells us that the name of Abijah's mother was "Micaiah the daughter of Uriel of Gibeah" (2 Chronicles 13:2).
It is less difficult to combine all these statements into a consistent account than it would be to combine some pairs of them if taken by themselves. When all put together they make a luminous narrative, needing no help from conjectural theories of discrepant sources or textual errors. It is natural to understand that Tamar the daughter of Absalom married Uriel of Gibeah; that their daughter was Maacah, named for her great-grandmother (2 Samuel 3:31 Chronicles 3:2); that Micaiah is a variant of Maacah, as Abijah is of Abijam. Maacah married Rehoboam, the parties being second cousins on the father's side; if they had been first cousins perhaps they would not have married. Very likely Solomon, through the marriage, hoped to conciliate an influential party in Israel which still held the name of Absalom in esteem; perhaps also he hoped to supplement the moderate abilities of Rehoboam by the great abilities of his wife. She was a brilliant woman, and Rehoboam's favorite (2 Chronicles 11:21). On Abijah's accession she held at court the influential position of king's mother; and she was so strong that she continued to hold it, when, after a brief reign, Abijah was succeeded by Asa; though it was a position from which Asa had the authority to depose her (1 Kings 15:132 Chronicles 15:16).
The account in Chronicles deals mainly with a decisive victory which, it says, Abijah gained over northern Israel (2 Chronicles 13), he having 400,000 men and Jeroboam 800,000, of whom 500,000 were slain. It is clear that these numbers are artificial, and were so intended, whatever may be the key to their meaning. Abijah's speech before the battle presents the same view of the religious situation which is presented in Kings and Amos and Hosea, though with fuller priestly details. The orthodoxy of Abijah on this one occasion is not in conflict with the representation in Kings that he followed mainly the evil ways of his father Rehoboam. In Chronicles coarse luxury and the multiplying of wives are attributed to both father and son.
(6) A priest of Nehemiah's time, who sealed the covenant (Nehemiah 10:7). Conjecturally the same with the one mentioned inNehemiah 12:4, 17.
(7) The wife of Judah's grandson Hezron, to whom was traced the origin of Tekoa (1 Chronicles 2:24).
(8) The mother of King Hezekiah (2 Chronicles 29:1), called Abi in 2 Ki. SeeABI.
Willis J. Beecher
Greek
7. Abia --Abijah, Abia, the name of two Israelites...Abijah, Abia, the name of two Israelites. Part of Speech: Proper Noun, Indeclinable
Transliteration: Abia Phonetic Spelling: (ab-ee-ah') Short Definition
...760. Asaph -- Asa, a king of Judah
... Part of Speech: Proper Noun, Indeclinable Transliteration: Asaph Phonetic Spelling:
(as-ah') Short Definition: Asa Definition: Asa, son ofAbijah and father of...
Strong's Hebrew
29. Abiyyah -- "Yah is my father," an Israelite name... "Yah is my father," an Israelite name. Transliteration: Abiyyah Phonetic Spelling:
(ab-ee-yaw') Short Definition:
Abijah.
... name NASB Word Usage
Abijah (25).
...38. Abiyyam -- "father of (the) sea," an Israelite name
... name NASB Word Usage Abijam (5). Abijam. From 'ab and yam; father of (the) sea
(ie Seaman); Abijam (orAbijah), a king of Judah -- Abijam. see HEBREW 'ab....
Library
Concerning the Death of a Son of Jeroboam. How Jeroboam was Beaten...
... CHAPTER 11. Concerning The Death Of A Son Of Jeroboam. How Jeroboam Was Beaten By
Abijah Who Died A Little Afterward And Was Succeeded In His Kingdom By Asa....
The Secret of victory
... These words are the summing-up of the story of a strange old-world battle between
Jeroboam, the adventurer who rent the kingdom, andAbijah, the son of the...
Concerning Rehoboam, and How God Inflicted Punishment Upon Him for...
... to him, he married also another of his own kindred, who was daughter of Absalom
by Tamar, whose name was Maachah, and by her he had a son, whom he namedAbijah...
Annunciation to Zacharias of the Birth of John the Baptist.
... Of these courses that ofAbijah was the eighth] ofAbijah: and he had a wife of
the daughters of Aaron [The Baptist was of the priestly race by both parents, a...
Genealogy of Jesus According to Matthew.
... a wise but sinful king] begat Rehoboam [a foolish king, from whose kingdom of twelve
tribes God cut off ten tribes]; and Rehoboam begatAbijah [a sinful king...
Jeroboam
... Toward the close of a troubled reign of twenty-two years, Jeroboam met with a
disastrous defeat in a war withAbijah, the successor of Rehoboam....
Treatise i. On the Unity of the Church.
... On the other hand, again, when at Solomon's death his kingdom and people were divided,
Abijah the prophet, meeting Jeroboam the king in the field, divided his...
Letter vi. In My Last Two Letters I have Given the State of the...
... that THE LOVE OF GOD TOWARD US WAS MANIFESTED IN SENDING HIS ONLY BEGOTTEN SON INTO
THE WORLD, THAT WE MIGHT LIVE THROUGH HIM (1 John 4:9). Or,Abijah is said...
Receiving Agents.
... NEW-HAMPSHIRE. Hanover, George Wheeler, PM Cornish, William Whittlesey, PM Keene,
Abijah Kingsbury, Concord, John West. Portsmouth, Childs & March. VERMONT....
The Kingdom Op Judah.
... In 955Abijah came to the throne instead of Rehoboam, and was permitted to gain
a great victory over Jeroboam, but he died at the end of three years, and was...
Thesaurus
Abijah (32 Occurrences)... The order of
Abijah was one of those which did not return from the Captivity (Ezra
2:36-39; Nehemiah 7:39-42; 12:1).
... Int. Standard Bible Encyclopedia.
ABIJAH.
...Abijah's (3 Occurrences)
... Multi-Version ConcordanceAbijah's (3 Occurrences). 1 Kings 15:6 Now there was war
between Rehoboam and Jeroboam all the days of his life. (See NIV)....
Abi'jah (26 Occurrences)
Abi'jah.Abijah, Abi'jah.Abijah's .... Matthew 1:7 and Solomon begat Rehoboam,
and Rehoboam begatAbijah, andAbijah begat Asa, (See RSV)....
Abijam (4 Occurrences)
... Father of the sea; ie, "seaman" the name always used in Kings of the king of Judah,
the son of Rehoboam, elsewhere calledAbijah (1 Kings 15:1, 7, 8). (see...
Iddo (14 Occurrences)
... (4.) Lovely. A prophet of Judah who wrote the history of Rehoboam andAbijah (2
Chronicles 12:15). He has been identified with Oded (2 Chronicles 15:1)....
Maachah (19 Occurrences)
... 1 Kings 15:2). She is called "Michaiah the daughter of Uriel," who was the husband
of Absalom's daughter Tamar (2 Chronicles 13:2). Her sonAbijah or Abijam...
Rehobo'am (42 Occurrences)
... Multi-Version Concordance Rehobo'am (42 Occurrences). Matthew 1:7 and Solomon begat
Rehoboam, and Rehoboam begatAbijah, andAbijah begat Asa, (See RSV)....
Zemaraim (2 Occurrences)
... Here the armies ofAbijah and Jeroboam engaged in a bloody battle, which issued
in the total defeat of the king of Israel, who never "recovered strength again...
Uriel (4 Occurrences)
... (3.) The father of Michaiah, one of Rehoboam's wives, and mother ofAbijah (2
Chronicles 13:2). Int.... There was war betweenAbijah and Jeroboam....
Asa (54 Occurrences)
... Easton's Bible Dictionary Physician, son ofAbijah and grandson of Rehoboam, was
the third king of Judah.... He was the son ofAbijah and grandson of Rehoboam....
Resources
Who was King Abijah in the Bible? | GotQuestions.orgWas Jesus actually born in September? | GotQuestions.orgWho was King Asa in the Bible? | GotQuestions.orgBible Concordance •
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