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'''Abijam''' ([[Hebrew]], "father of the sea" or "seaman") or '''Abijah''' ([[Hebrew]], "my father is Jehovah") (958-56 BC according to [[James Ussher|Ussher]],<ref name=Ussher>[[James Ussher]], ''[[The Annals of the World]]'', [[Larry Pierce]], ed., Green Forest, AR: Master Books, 2003 (ISBN 0890513600), pghh. 487-489</ref> or 913-910 BC according to [[Edwin R. Thiele|Thiele]]<ref name=Wood>Leon J. Wood, ''A Survey of Israel's History'', rev. ed. David O'Brien, Grand Rapids, MI: Academie Books, 1986 (ISBN 031034770X), p. 289</ref>), was the second king of the [[Southern Kingdom]] and immediate successor of [[Rehoboam]]. Both [[I Kings]]<ref>{{Bible ref|book=I_Kings|chap=15|verses=1-8}}</ref> and [[II Chronicles]]<ref>{{Bible ref|book=II_Chronicles|chap=13}}</ref> give the length of his reign as three years. Ussher's dates depend on explicit synchronies with the reign of [[Jeroboam I]] of the [[Northern Kingdom]].
== Family ==
Abijam was the son of [[Rehoboam]] and Rehoboam's favorite wife [[Maachah]]. The precise identity and lineage of Maachah is confusing, in that she is either the daughter or the grand-daughter of [[Absalom]].<ref name=WebBible>Authors unknown. "[http://www.christiananswers.net/dictionary/abijah.html Entry for Abijah]." WebBible Encyclopedia. Retrieved June 22, 2007.</ref>
Abijam had a total of fourteen wives, and on them sired twenty-two sons, including his eventual successor [[Asa]], and sixteen daughters.
== Description of reign ==
The [[Bible]] nowhere gives a hint as to the year of the birth of Abijam--unusual in the annals of the kings of the Southern Kingdom. Both Bible sources describe Abijam's reign as "evil-doing in the sight of the Lord." The one major exception to this is the [[Battle of Zemaraim]], in which he faced off against an army twice as large as his own and inflicted an incredible 62.5 percent casualties on it. The Chronicler tells us that Abijam won the day at Zemaraim because for once in his reign he trusted in [[God]] and exhorted his forces to do the same. After that battle, Jeroboam was never again able to pose a credible threat to his kingdom.<ref name=WebBible/><ref name=GeoCities>Authors unknown. "[http://www.geocities.com/thekingsofisrael/biography_Abijam.html King Abijam - Biography]." ''The Kings of Israel'', hosted at http://www.geocities.com/ Retrieved June 22, 2007.</ref>
Unhappily, Abijam failed to dismantle the golden calf at [[Bethel]] after capturing it. That task would fall to King [[Josiah]], more than three hundred years later.<ref name=GeoCities/>
== Death and Succession ==
Abijam died in the third year of his reign, and his son [[Asa]] succeeded him.
== Related References ==
<references/>
== See Also ==
* [[United Kingdom]]
* [[Northern Kingdom]]
* [[Southern Kingdom]]
* [[Jeroboam I]]
[[Category:Bible]]
[[Category:Biography]]
[[Category:Bible character]]
[[Category:History]]
[[Category:Israel]]
== Family ==
Abijam was the son of [[Rehoboam]] and Rehoboam's favorite wife [[Maachah]]. The precise identity and lineage of Maachah is confusing, in that she is either the daughter or the grand-daughter of [[Absalom]].<ref name=WebBible>Authors unknown. "[http://www.christiananswers.net/dictionary/abijah.html Entry for Abijah]." WebBible Encyclopedia. Retrieved June 22, 2007.</ref>
Abijam had a total of fourteen wives, and on them sired twenty-two sons, including his eventual successor [[Asa]], and sixteen daughters.
== Description of reign ==
The [[Bible]] nowhere gives a hint as to the year of the birth of Abijam--unusual in the annals of the kings of the Southern Kingdom. Both Bible sources describe Abijam's reign as "evil-doing in the sight of the Lord." The one major exception to this is the [[Battle of Zemaraim]], in which he faced off against an army twice as large as his own and inflicted an incredible 62.5 percent casualties on it. The Chronicler tells us that Abijam won the day at Zemaraim because for once in his reign he trusted in [[God]] and exhorted his forces to do the same. After that battle, Jeroboam was never again able to pose a credible threat to his kingdom.<ref name=WebBible/><ref name=GeoCities>Authors unknown. "[http://www.geocities.com/thekingsofisrael/biography_Abijam.html King Abijam - Biography]." ''The Kings of Israel'', hosted at http://www.geocities.com/ Retrieved June 22, 2007.</ref>
Unhappily, Abijam failed to dismantle the golden calf at [[Bethel]] after capturing it. That task would fall to King [[Josiah]], more than three hundred years later.<ref name=GeoCities/>
== Death and Succession ==
Abijam died in the third year of his reign, and his son [[Asa]] succeeded him.
== Related References ==
<references/>
== See Also ==
* [[United Kingdom]]
* [[Northern Kingdom]]
* [[Southern Kingdom]]
* [[Jeroboam I]]
[[Category:Bible]]
[[Category:Biography]]
[[Category:Bible character]]
[[Category:History]]
[[Category:Israel]]