Abijah of Judah

Abijah of Judah (also spelled Abiah or Abijam; c. 950 BCE – c. 911 BCE) was the second king of the ancient Kingdom of Judah. He reigned for a brief period of three years, from approximately 915–913 BCE (according to Albright's chronology) or 914–911 BCE (according to Thiele's chronology). Abijah was the son and successor of Rehoboam, the first king of Judah after the division of the united monarchy, and the grandson of King Solomon. His mother was Maacah, or Micaiah, who was the daughter of Uriel of Gibeah and the granddaughter of Absalom.

The biblical accounts of Abijah's reign in 1 Kings 15 and 2 Chronicles 13 offer slightly different perspectives. The Book of Kings generally portrays him as a king who did not fully follow the Lord, walking in the sins of his father Rehoboam, including tolerating pagan practices and male cult prostitutes in the land. The Book of Chronicles, however, provides a more detailed and somewhat more favorable account, emphasizing his reliance on God during a major military conflict with the northern Kingdom of Israel.

The defining event of Abijah's rule was a significant war with Jeroboam I, the king of Israel. In a famous battle at Mount Zemaraim, despite being vastly outnumbered (with Judah having 400,000 men against Israel's 800,000), Abijah rallied his troops and achieved a decisive victory, a success the Chronicler attributes to divine intervention because Judah "relied on the Lord, the God of their fathers". Following this victory, Judah captured several Israelite cities, including Bethel and Ephron. Abijah had fourteen wives and was the father of twenty-two sons and sixteen daughters. He was succeeded upon his death by his son, Asa.