Who is…
Abijah
Meaning: father of Jehovah (i.e., possessor or worshipper of Jehovah)
This is a common name used by both men and women of Israel’s Old Testament period.
King Abijah
also known as: Abijam
This bad Davidic king is the son of King Rehoboam (also a bad king), whom he succeeded on the throne of Judah (1 Chronicles 3:10).
…Abijah became powerful, and he took fourteen wives for himself, and fathered twenty-two sons and sixteen daughters. —2 Chronicles 13:21 NASB
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His story is told in 1 Kings 14:31—15:8 and 2 Chronicles 13.
He is also called Abijam (1 Kings 14:31; 15:1-8).
He began his 3 year reign (2 Chronicles 12:16; 13:1-2) with a strenuous but unsuccessful effort to bring back the 10 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 in 1 Kings 15:2 that “his mother’s name was Maachah, the daughter of Abishalom;” but in 2 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” in 1 Kings 15:2 will thus, as it frequently elsewhere does, mean granddaughter.
More information
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Prince Abijah, a son of King Jeroboam
His father Jeroboam is the first king of the Kingdom of Israel—made up of 10 tribes that broke away from Judah and Benjamin which became the Kingdom of Judah.
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).
Queen Abijah (Abi)
She is the daughter of Zechariah (2 Chronicles 29:1>; compare Isaiah 8:2, and afterwards the wife of Ahaz
She is also called Abi (2 Kings 18:2).
Judge Abijah
This is the 2nd 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.
Chief priest Abijah
He is a descendant of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, a chief of one of the 24 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; Neh. 7:39-42; 12:1).
Abijah of 1 Chronicles 7:8
Abijah of 1 Chronicles 2:24
Abijah, son of Becher
He is one of the sons of Becher and grandson of Benjamin (1 Chronicles 7:8).
King James Version: “Abiah”