1 Kings 15:1-8

Abijah’s Reign over Judah

15:1 In the eighteenth year of the reign of Jeroboam son of Nebat, Abijah ¹  became king over Judah. 15:2 He ruled for three years in Jerusalem. ²  His mother was Maacah, the daughter of Abishalom. ³  15:3 He followed all the sinful practices of his father before him. He was not wholeheartedly devoted to the Lord his God, as his ancestor David had been. ⁴  15:4 Nevertheless for David’s sake the Lord his God maintained his dynasty ⁵  in Jerusalem by giving him a son ⁶  to succeed him ⁷  and by protecting Jerusalem. ⁸  15:5 He did this ⁹  because David had done what he approved ¹⁰  and had not disregarded any of his commandments ¹¹  his entire lifetime, except for the incident involving Uriah the Hittite. 15:6 Rehoboam ¹²  and Jeroboam were continually at war with each other throughout Abijah’s ¹³  lifetime. 15:7 The rest of the events of Abijah’s reign, including all his accomplishments, are recorded in the scroll called the Annals of the Kings of Judah. ¹⁴  Abijah and Jeroboam had been at war with each other. 15:8 Abijah passed away ¹⁵  and was buried ¹⁶  in the city of David. His son Asa replaced him as king.

[15:1]  ¹ tc The Old Greek also has the phrase “the son of Rehoboam.”

[15:2]  ² map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[15:2]  ³ sn Abishalom (also in v. 10) is a variant of the name Absalom (cf. 2 Chr 11:20). The more common form is used by TEV, NLT.

[15:3]  ⁴ tn Heb “his heart was not complete with the Lord his God, like the heart of David his father.”

[15:4]  ⁵ tn Heb “gave him a lamp.”

[15:4]  ⁶ tc The Old Greek has the plural “his sons.”

[15:4]  ⁷ tn Heb “by raising up his son after him.”

[15:4]  ⁸ tn Heb “and by causing Jerusalem to stand firm.”

[15:5]  ⁹ tn The words “he did this” are added for stylistic reasons.

[15:5]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “what was right in the eyes of the Lord.”

[15:5]  ¹¹ tn Heb “and had not turned aside from all which he commanded him.”

[15:6]  ¹² tc Most Hebrew mss read “Rehoboam”; a few Hebrew mss and the Syriac read “Abijam” (a variant of Abijah).

[15:6]  ¹³ tn Heb “his”; the referent (Abijah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[15:7]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “As for the rest of the events of Abijah, and all which he did, are they not written on the scroll of the events of the days of the kings of Judah?”

[15:8]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “lay down with his fathers.” The Old Greek also has these words: “in the twenty-eighth year of Jeroboam.”

[15:8]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “and they buried him.”