fbpx
Wikipedia

Abijah of Judah

December 15, 2023

Abijam (Hebrew: אֲבִיָּם‎, Modern: ʼAvīyam, Tiberian: ʼĂḇīyyām, "father of the sea" or "my father is the sea/is Yam"; Biblical Greek: Αβιού, romanized: Aviou; Latin: Abiam)[1] was, according to the Hebrew Bible, the fourth king of the House of David and the second of the Kingdom of Judah. He was the son of Rehoboam and the grandson of Solomon.[2][3][4] The Books of Chronicles refer to him as Abijah.[a][5]

Abijah
King of Judah
Reignc. 913 – 911 BCE
PredecessorRehoboam
SuccessorAsa
Bornc. 950 BCE
Jerusalem
Died911 BCE
possibly Jerusalem
Burial
Jerusalem
Spouse14 wives
Issue22 sons and 16 daughters
Hebrew nameאבים בן-רחבעם
’Aviyam ben Rehav’am
HouseHouse of David
FatherRehoboam
MotherMaacah, or Micaiah, daughter of Uriel of Gibeah, and granddaughter of Absalom

In the Hebrew Bible edit

Family edit

Abijam is reported in the books of Kings and Chronicles as being the son of Maacah or Micaiah, and father of King Asa of Judah. Some scholars believe the biblical accounts of Abijam's family to be contradictory;[6] however, a study of Hebrew linguistics may remove any seeming contradictions. One of the alleged contradictions is that Maacah is sometimes described as the daughter of Absalom, and elsewhere the daughter of Uriel. Absalom is described as only having one daughter, Tamar.[7] Apologists have countered by arguing that in Hebrew, "daughter" and "granddaughter" are the same word.[8][9] Similarly, Maacah is initially described as Abijah's mother, but subsequently described as the mother of his son Asa. Apologists argue similarly for the ambiguity of the term "mother".[10] Abijah married fourteen wives, and had 22 sons and 16 daughters.[11] No attempted harmonization has found acceptance with scholars.

Reign edit

Following the death of Rehoboam, his son Abijah succeeded the throne as King of Judah.[12] He began his three-year reign (2 Chr. 12:16; 13:1, 2) with a strenuous but unsuccessful effort to bring back the ten tribes of the northern Kingdom of Israel to their allegiance, [13] a path which in 2 Chronicles 11:4 his father had chosen not to follow.

Following Abijah's ascension to the throne in the 18th year of King Jeroboam I of Israel, he marched north with the purpose of winning Israel back to the Davidic kingdom.[12] Jeroboam surrounded Abijah's army, engaging in the Battle of Mount Zemaraim.[12] There Abijah rallied his troops with a phrase which has since become famous: "God Himself is with us for a Captain". Abijah went on to capture the Israelite cities of Jeshanah, Ephron (et-Taiyibeh) and Bethel.[12]

Commentaries edit

Non-conformist minister Alexander Maclaren considers Abijah "a wiser and better man than his father".[14]

According to the Deuteronomist,[15] "God gave him a lamp in Jerusalem by raising up a son to succeed him" (1 Kings 15:4). The wording in the Septuagint is "the Lord gave him a remnant".[16] Thus the unconditional covenant blessing of YHWH guaranteed his promise to King David, to stabilize the Kingdom of David despite its ruler. The Chronicler also emphasizes YHWH's promise as seen by Abijah's success against every effort by Jeroboam to defeat him:[12]

Judah prevailed because they relied upon the Lord God of their fathers. (2 Chr. 13:18)

God had given the Kingdom to David and his descendants (1 Chronicles 17:14) by a covenant of salt, meaning, of permanence (cf. Leviticus 2:13).[17]

Rabbinic literature edit

Although Abijah took up God's cause against Jeroboam, the idolatrous king of Israel, he was not permitted to enjoy the fruits of his victory over the latter for any considerable time, dying as he did shortly after his campaign (Josephus, "Ant." viii. 11, § 3). The rabbis recount many transgressions committed by Abijah against his fellow men, which resulted in drawing God's vengeance upon him more speedily than upon Jeroboam's idolatries. Thus it is stated that he mutilated the corpses of Jeroboam's soldiers, and even would not permit them to be interred until they had arrived at a state of putrefaction. Nor did Abijah show himself zealous in God's cause after all; for when, by the conquest of Bethel (II Chron. xiii. 19), the golden calves came into his possession, he did not destroy them as the law (Deut. vii. 25) enjoined. The rabbis also point out that it was improper for Abijah to accuse the whole of Israel of idolatry and to proclaim the appointment of Jeroboam as king to have been the work of "vain men, the children of Belial" (II Chron. xiii. 7), since in point of fact it was the prophet Ahijah, the Shilonite, who prophesied that Jeroboam would be king (I Kings, xi. 37). For these reasons Abijah's reign was a short one.[18]

Chronological discrepancies edit

According to 2 Chronicles 13:1–2, Abijah became king of Judah in the 18th year of the reign of Jeroboam, and reigned for three years.

William F. Albright has dated his reign to 915–913 BCE.

E. R. Thiele offers the dates 914/913 – 911/910 BCE.[19] As explained in the Rehoboam article, Thiele's chronology for the first kings of Judah contained an internal inconsistency which later scholars corrected by dating these kings one year earlier, so that Abijah's dates are taken as 915/914 to 912/911 BCE in the present article.

Notes edit

  1. ^ Hebrew: אֲבִיָּה, ʼAbiyya, "my father is Yah"; Greek: Αβια; Latin: Abia

References edit

  1. ^ "1 Kings 15:1 Multilingual: Now in the eighteenth year of King Jeroboam the son of Nebat, Abijam began to reign over Judah". mlbible.com.
  2. ^ Pulkrabek 2007, p. 39.
  3. ^ Provan, Hubbard & Johnston 2012, p. 189.
  4. ^ Zucker 2013, p. 194.
  5. ^ 2 Chronicles 13:1–22
  6. ^ Sweeney 2007, p. 191.
  7. ^ 2 Samuel 14:27.
  8. ^ "Daughter - Smith's Bible Dictionary". Bible Study Tools. 22 October 2019.
  9. ^ "Daughter - International Standard Bible Encyclopedia". Bible Study Tools. Retrieved 2019-10-21.
  10. ^ Strong, James (2010). The New Strong's Expanded Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers. ISBN 978-1-4185-4237-5.
  11. ^ 2 Chronicles 13:21
  12. ^ a b c d e Merrill 2008, p. 347.
  13. ^ Easton 1894, p. 6, Abi’jah (5.).
  14. ^ Maclaren, A., Expositions of Holy Scripture on 2 Chronicles 13, accessed 27 April 2020
  15. ^ Eerdmans 2000, p. 6, ABIJAH 3..
  16. ^ "1 Kings 15 Brenton Septuagint Translation". biblehub.com.
  17. ^ Wycliffe 1962, p. 873.
  18. ^ Jewish encyclopedia Abijah   This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  19. ^ Thiele 1951, p. 81, 82, 217.

Works cited edit

  • Easton, Matthew George (1894). Illustrated Bible Dictionary (2nd ed.). London: T. Nelson.
  • Eerdmans (2000). Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible (David Noel Freedman, Allen C. Myers, Astrid B. Beck ed.). Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing. ISBN 9780802824004.
  • Merrill, Eugene H. (2008). Kingdom of Priests: A History of Old Testament Israel. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Academic. p. 347. ISBN 9781441217073.
  • Provan, I.W.; Hubbard, R.L.; Johnston, R.K. (2012). 1 & 2 Kings. Understanding the Bible Commentary Series. Baker Publishing Group. ISBN 978-1-4412-3830-6. Retrieved 23 August 2017.
  • Pulkrabek, W.W. (2007). Family Trees of the Bible: Family Tree Charts and Genealogical Information of the Main Characters in the Christian Bible. Vantage Press. ISBN 978-0-533-15607-8. Retrieved 23 August 2017.
  • Sweeney, M.A. (2007). I & II Kings: A Commentary. Old Testament library. Westminster John Knox Press. ISBN 978-0-664-22084-6.
  • Thiele, Edwin R. (1951). The Mysterious Numbers of the Hebrew Kings (New rev. ed.). Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Academic.
  • Tyndale (2001). Tyndale Bible Dictionary (Walter A. Elwell, Philip Wesley Comfort ed.). Wheaton, Ill.: Tyndale House Publishers. p. 5. ISBN 9780842370899.
  • Wycliffe (1962). The Wycliffe Bible Commentary (Charles F. Pfeiffer, Everett F. Harrison ed.). Moody Publishers. ISBN 9781575677163.
  • Zucker, D.J. (2013). The Bible's Writings: An Introduction for Christians and Jews. Wipf & Stock Publishers. ISBN 978-1-63087-112-3. Retrieved 23 August 2017.

Further reading edit

  • Lesley, J. P. (1881). "Notes on an Egyptian Element in the Names of the Hebrew Kings". Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society. 19 (108): 412. JSTOR 982265.
  •   McCurdy, J. Frederic; Ginzberg, Louis (1901–1906). "Abijah {entry #3}". In Singer, Isidore; et al. (eds.). The Jewish Encyclopedia. New York: Funk & Wagnalls.
Abijah of Judah
Cadet branch of the Tribe of Judah
Contemporary King of Israel: Jeroboam I
Regnal titles
Preceded by King of Judah
913–912 BCE 		Succeeded by

December 15, 2023
abijah, judah, abijam, hebrew, modern, ʼavīyam, tiberian, ʼĂḇīyyām, father, father, biblical, greek, Αβιού, romanized, aviou, latin, abiam, according, hebrew, bible, fourth, king, house, david, second, kingdom, judah, rehoboam, grandson, solomon, books, chroni. Abijam Hebrew א ב י ם Modern ʼAviyam Tiberian ʼĂḇiyyam father of the sea or my father is the sea is Yam Biblical Greek Abioy romanized Aviou Latin Abiam 1 was according to the Hebrew Bible the fourth king of the House of David and the second of the Kingdom of Judah He was the son of Rehoboam and the grandson of Solomon 2 3 4 The Books of Chronicles refer to him as Abijah a 5 AbijahAbijam from Guillaume Rouille s Promptuarii Iconum Insigniorum 1553King of JudahReignc 913 911 BCEPredecessorRehoboamSuccessorAsaBornc 950 BCE JerusalemDied911 BCEpossibly JerusalemBurialJerusalemSpouse14 wivesIssue22 sons and 16 daughtersHebrew nameאבים בן רחבעם Aviyam ben Rehav amHouseHouse of DavidFatherRehoboamMotherMaacah or Micaiah daughter of Uriel of Gibeah and granddaughter of Absalom Contents 1 In the Hebrew Bible 1 1 Family 1 2 Reign 2 Commentaries 3 Rabbinic literature 4 Chronological discrepancies 5 Notes 6 References 7 Works cited 8 Further readingIn the Hebrew Bible editFamily edit Abijam is reported in the books of Kings and Chronicles as being the son of Maacah or Micaiah and father of King Asa of Judah Some scholars believe the biblical accounts of Abijam s family to be contradictory 6 however a study of Hebrew linguistics may remove any seeming contradictions One of the alleged contradictions is that Maacah is sometimes described as the daughter of Absalom and elsewhere the daughter of Uriel Absalom is described as only having one daughter Tamar 7 Apologists have countered by arguing that in Hebrew daughter and granddaughter are the same word 8 9 Similarly Maacah is initially described as Abijah s mother but subsequently described as the mother of his son Asa Apologists argue similarly for the ambiguity of the term mother 10 Abijah married fourteen wives and had 22 sons and 16 daughters 11 No attempted harmonization has found acceptance with scholars Reign edit Following the death of Rehoboam his son Abijah succeeded the throne as King of Judah 12 He began his three year reign 2 Chr 12 16 13 1 2 with a strenuous but unsuccessful effort to bring back the ten tribes of the northern Kingdom of Israel to their allegiance 13 a path which in 2 Chronicles 11 4 his father had chosen not to follow Following Abijah s ascension to the throne in the 18th year of King Jeroboam I of Israel he marched north with the purpose of winning Israel back to the Davidic kingdom 12 Jeroboam surrounded Abijah s army engaging in the Battle of Mount Zemaraim 12 There Abijah rallied his troops with a phrase which has since become famous God Himself is with us for a Captain Abijah went on to capture the Israelite cities of Jeshanah Ephron et Taiyibeh and Bethel 12 Commentaries editNon conformist minister Alexander Maclaren considers Abijah a wiser and better man than his father 14 According to the Deuteronomist 15 God gave him a lamp in Jerusalem by raising up a son to succeed him 1 Kings 15 4 The wording in the Septuagint is the Lord gave him a remnant 16 Thus the unconditional covenant blessing of YHWH guaranteed his promise to King David to stabilize the Kingdom of David despite its ruler The Chronicler also emphasizes YHWH s promise as seen by Abijah s success against every effort by Jeroboam to defeat him 12 Judah prevailed because they relied upon the Lord God of their fathers 2 Chr 13 18 God had given the Kingdom to David and his descendants 1 Chronicles 17 14 by a covenant of salt meaning of permanence cf Leviticus 2 13 17 Rabbinic literature editAlthough Abijah took up God s cause against Jeroboam the idolatrous king of Israel he was not permitted to enjoy the fruits of his victory over the latter for any considerable time dying as he did shortly after his campaign Josephus Ant viii 11 3 The rabbis recount many transgressions committed by Abijah against his fellow men which resulted in drawing God s vengeance upon him more speedily than upon Jeroboam s idolatries Thus it is stated that he mutilated the corpses of Jeroboam s soldiers and even would not permit them to be interred until they had arrived at a state of putrefaction Nor did Abijah show himself zealous in God s cause after all for when by the conquest of Bethel II Chron xiii 19 the golden calves came into his possession he did not destroy them as the law Deut vii 25 enjoined The rabbis also point out that it was improper for Abijah to accuse the whole of Israel of idolatry and to proclaim the appointment of Jeroboam as king to have been the work of vain men the children of Belial II Chron xiii 7 since in point of fact it was the prophet Ahijah the Shilonite who prophesied that Jeroboam would be king I Kings xi 37 For these reasons Abijah s reign was a short one 18 Chronological discrepancies editAccording to 2 Chronicles 13 1 2 Abijah became king of Judah in the 18th year of the reign of Jeroboam and reigned for three years William F Albright has dated his reign to 915 913 BCE E R Thiele offers the dates 914 913 911 910 BCE 19 As explained in the Rehoboam article Thiele s chronology for the first kings of Judah contained an internal inconsistency which later scholars corrected by dating these kings one year earlier so that Abijah s dates are taken as 915 914 to 912 911 BCE in the present article Notes edit Hebrew א ב י ה ʼAbiyya my father is Yah Greek Abia Latin AbiaReferences edit 1 Kings 15 1 Multilingual Now in the eighteenth year of King Jeroboam the son of Nebat Abijam began to reign over Judah mlbible com Pulkrabek 2007 p 39 Provan Hubbard amp Johnston 2012 p 189 Zucker 2013 p 194 2 Chronicles 13 1 22 Sweeney 2007 p 191 2 Samuel 14 27 Daughter Smith s Bible Dictionary Bible Study Tools 22 October 2019 Daughter International Standard Bible Encyclopedia Bible Study Tools Retrieved 2019 10 21 Strong James 2010 The New Strong s Expanded Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible Nashville TN Thomas Nelson Publishers ISBN 978 1 4185 4237 5 2 Chronicles 13 21 a b c d e Merrill 2008 p 347 Easton 1894 p 6 Abi jah 5 Maclaren A Expositions of Holy Scripture on 2 Chronicles 13 accessed 27 April 2020 Eerdmans 2000 p 6 ABIJAH 3 1 Kings 15 Brenton Septuagint Translation biblehub com Wycliffe 1962 p 873 Jewish encyclopedia Abijah nbsp This article incorporates text from this source which is in the public domain Thiele 1951 p 81 82 217 Works cited editEaston Matthew George 1894 Illustrated Bible Dictionary 2nd ed London T Nelson Eerdmans 2000 Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible David Noel Freedman Allen C Myers Astrid B Beck ed Wm B Eerdmans Publishing ISBN 9780802824004 Merrill Eugene H 2008 Kingdom of Priests A History of Old Testament Israel Grand Rapids Mich Baker Academic p 347 ISBN 9781441217073 Provan I W Hubbard R L Johnston R K 2012 1 amp 2 Kings Understanding the Bible Commentary Series Baker Publishing Group ISBN 978 1 4412 3830 6 Retrieved 23 August 2017 Pulkrabek W W 2007 Family Trees of the Bible Family Tree Charts and Genealogical Information of the Main Characters in the Christian Bible Vantage Press ISBN 978 0 533 15607 8 Retrieved 23 August 2017 Sweeney M A 2007 I amp II Kings A Commentary Old Testament library Westminster John Knox Press ISBN 978 0 664 22084 6 Thiele Edwin R 1951 The Mysterious Numbers of the Hebrew Kings New rev ed Grand Rapids MI Kregel Academic Tyndale 2001 Tyndale Bible Dictionary Walter A Elwell Philip Wesley Comfort ed Wheaton Ill Tyndale House Publishers p 5 ISBN 9780842370899 Wycliffe 1962 The Wycliffe Bible Commentary Charles F Pfeiffer Everett F Harrison ed Moody Publishers ISBN 9781575677163 Zucker D J 2013 The Bible s Writings An Introduction for Christians and Jews Wipf amp Stock Publishers ISBN 978 1 63087 112 3 Retrieved 23 August 2017 Further reading editLesley J P 1881 Notes on an Egyptian Element in the Names of the Hebrew Kings Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society 19 108 412 JSTOR 982265 nbsp McCurdy J Frederic Ginzberg Louis 1901 1906 Abijah entry 3 In Singer Isidore et al eds The Jewish Encyclopedia New York Funk amp Wagnalls Abijah of JudahHouse of DavidCadet branch of the Tribe of JudahContemporary King of Israel Jeroboam IRegnal titlesPreceded byRehoboam King of Judah913 912 BCE Succeeded byAsa Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Abijah of Judah amp oldid 1187076181, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

article

, read, download, free, free download, mp3, video, mp4, 3gp, jpg, jpeg, gif, png, picture, music, song, movie, book, game, games.