King of Judah
Abijah, King of Judah
uh-BY-juh · Also called Abijam, Abijah
Rehoboam's son, called Abijam in 1 Kings and Abijah in Chronicles, whose short reign is chiefly remembered for a battle speech rallying Judah against Jeroboam's Israel and a decisive victory despite being badly outnumbered.
Life and work
Abijah reigned only three years in Jerusalem after his father Rehoboam, and 1 Kings judges him negatively, saying he walked in the sins of his father and 'his heart was not wholly true to the LORD his God, like the heart of David his father' (1 Kings 15:1-3).
2 Chronicles gives a fuller account of a war between Abijah and Jeroboam of Israel, in which Abijah, facing an army twice the size of his own, delivered a speech from a mountaintop appealing to Judah's legitimate Davidic kingship and unlawful worship in Israel, then won a rout after priests sounded trumpets and Judah cried out to the LORD (2 Chronicles 13:1-20).
Chronicles credits this victory with weakening Jeroboam permanently and reports that Abijah took several Israelite cities, grew powerful, and had fourteen wives and many children before he died and was succeeded by his son Asa (2 Chronicles 13:19-14:1; 1 Kings 15:7-8).
- Occupation
- King of Judah
- Places
- Jerusalem
Extra-biblical evidence
No confirmed extra-biblical inscription or record naming Abijah/Abijam has been identified; his brief three-year reign left no known independent trace in Egyptian or Mesopotamian sources.
Scripture references
- 1 Kings 15:1-8 — Reign summary as 'Abijam'
- 2 Chronicles 13:1-22 — War with Jeroboam and battle speech
- Matthew 1:7 — Named in Jesus's genealogy as 'Abijah'
Further reading
More people
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