1 Kings 15:1-8

4. Abijam’s evil reign in Judah 15:1-8

Abijam (or Abijah, lit. my father is Yah[weh]) reigned from 913 to 911 B.C. while Jeroboam ruled over Israel. [Note: Various charts of the kings, including those referred to previously, visualize their overlapping reigns.]

"The accession formulae from this reign onwards make cross-references between Judah and Israel. It is not clear whether this was to correlate the sources for the reader or to emphasize the essential unity which should have marked both peoples." [Note: Wiseman, p. 154.]

The king’s mother was a descendant of "Absalom," a variant spelling of "Abishalom" (1 Kings 15:2). According to 2 Chronicles 13:2, Maacah was the daughter of Uriel and therefore the granddaughter of Absalom. Abijam continued to tolerate the pagan worship reintroduced to Judah during his father’s reign (1 Kings 14:23-24). He experienced chastening from the Lord because his heart did not fully belong to Yahweh (1 Kings 15:3; 1 Kings 15:6; cf. 2 Chronicles 13:2-20). God’s patience with Abijam was due to His promises to David more than to Abijam’s own character (1 Kings 15:4-5; cf. 2 Samuel 21:17; 1 Kings 11:36). [Note: For the full biblical accounts of the reigns of these kings, consult the harmonies of Samuel, Kings, and Chronicles listed in the bibliography of these notes. The histories of Israel listed in the bibliography also give this information plus data from extrabiblical sources pertaining to their reigns.]