Abijam (Hastings' Dictionary)

1. King of Jndah (m'Sk, 2 Ch IS-"-"'). He is called Abijam (Vulg. Abiam), 1 K W^ 151.7.8. Nestle explains this as equivalent to cviit ' father of the people ' ; but since Abijah is read by thirteen of Kennicott's and de Rossi's MSS, supported by the LXX 'A/3(oi), Abijam is probably a mistake. As being the eldest son of Maacah, the favourite wife of Rehoboam, his father appointed him ' to be chief, even the prince among his brethren ; for he was minded to make him king ' (2 Ch 1 1^). His mother's name is variously given as Maacali the daughter of Abishalom (1 K 15=) (Absalom, 2 Ch 11^-'), or Micaiah the daughter of Uriel of Gibeah (2 Ch 13'). See Maacah. He reigned about two years, from the eighteenth to the twentieth year of Jeroboam. There is probably no reign the accounts of which in Kings and Chronicles are so discrepant as that of Abijah. In Kings there is nothing related of him except that ' he walked in all the sins of his father,' and that ' there was war between Abijam and Jeroboam ' ; and, in the history of Asa, an incidental allusion to ' things that Abijah had dedicated' for the temple. In fact, as in the case of Jehoram (2 K 8'), he was spared by God merely on account of the divine promise to David. But in Chronicles not only is there much additional historical matter, but Abijah seems to be a great and good man, and he is made the utterer of a sort of manifesto of the theocratic princijiles of Judah. The desultory warfare implied in Kings becomes in Chronicles one decisive pitched battle fought in the territory of Ephraira, in which Abijah's army of 400,000 slay 500,000 out of the 800,000 mar- shalled by Jeroboam. The battle is preceded by an oration spoken on Mt. Zemaraim by Abijah. After strongly aflirming the divine ri^ht of the Davidic line, lie dwells on the preWous impiety of Jeroboam's rebellion against Rehoboam when the latter ' was voung and tender-hearted, and could not withstand them ; and now ye think to %vithstand the kingdom of the Lord in the hands of the sons of David. ' The gods and priests of J udah and Israel are sharply contra-sted : 'Whosoever cometh to conse- crate himself with a young bullock and seven rams, the same may be apnest of them that are no gods.' The ceremonial of the daily worship at Jeru.salem is minutely described, and the loyalty of Judah to J' is twice altirmed. The battle which follows reads like an echo of the heroic age of Israel ' Jeroboam caused an ambushment to come about behind them. . . . the priests sounded with the trumpets (cf. Nu 10^ 31«, Jos 6"), then the men of Judah gave a shout (cf. Jos 6") ; and as the men of Judah shouted, it came to pass that God smote Jeroboam and all Israel.' Ijiree cities of Israel were taken : Bethel, Jeshanah, and Ephron. The last two are otherwise imknown, unless Ephron or Ephrain (RVm) be the same as Eiihraim (2 S 13^, Jn 11"). Bethel must soon have been re- covered by Baasha (2 Ch 16'). After this we are told that Abijah 'waxed mighty, and took unto himself fourteen wives.' Presumably most of his thirty-eight childi en were bom before he came to the throne. The Chronicler mentions as his au- thority for this reign the commentary (Midrash) of the prophet Iddo, who was also one of the biographers of Rehoboam. 2. Samuel's second son, who with his brother Joel judged at Beersheba (1 S 8-). Their corrupt administration of justice was one of the rea-sons alleged by the elders of Israel in justification of their demand for a king. The RV retains the spelling Abiah in 1 Ch 6. 3. A son of Jeroboam L who died in childhood. His mother having "one disguised to the prophet Ahijah to inquire if ne should recover, received the heavy tidings of the future annihilation of the house of Jeroboam, and of the immediate death of her child, ' taken away from the evil to come ' : ' And all Israel shall mourn for him, and bury him j for he only of Jeroboam shall come to the grave, because in him there is found some good thin^ toward the Lord the God of Israel in the house of Jeroboam' (1 K 14"). i. 1 Ch 24'". One of the 'heads of fathers' houses' of the sons of Eleazar, who gave his name to the 8th of the 24 courses of priests, the arrange- ment of whom is ascribed to David (1 Ch 24', 2 Ch 8"). To this course Zacharias, the father of John the Baptist, belonged (Lk P). It is probable that tins clan, and not an individual, is indicated in the lists of priests who ' went up with Zerubbabel ' (Neh 12"). LXX omits this and other names in Neh 12 (they are supplied by i "••), and in the list of priests who ' sealed unto the covenant ' in the time of Nehemiah (10') ('A^fid, B, k). Of the 21 names in Neh 10, 13 occur in nearly the same order in a list of 22 in ch. 12, while three others are very similar ; and of the names in these two lists 9 are found in the names of David's courses. On the other hand, ' the book of the genealo^ of them that came up at the first' (Neh 7, tzr 2) mentions only four families of priests, nor do there seem to have been more in the time of Ezr (lO"""). 5. A son of Becher, son of Benjamin, 1 Ch "'. 6. RV retains 'Abiah,' 1 Ch 2". Wife of Hezron, eldest son of Perez, son of Judah. She was probably daughter of Machir (2='). 7. wife of Aliaz, and mother of Hezekiah (2 Ch 29'), named Abi, 2 K 18». Iler father Zechariah is possibly mentioned in Is 8'. N. J. D. White.