Abijah or Abiah or Abia is a Biblical unisex name meaning "My father is Yahweh" in Hebrew.[1] In the Old Testament the name Abijah was borne by several characters:
- A son of Becher, the son of Benjamin. (1 Chr. 7:8)
- A wife of Hetzron, one of the grandchildren of Judah. (1 Chr. 2:24)
- The second son of Samuel. (1 Samuel 8:2; 1 Chr. 6:28) His conduct, along with that of his brother, as a judge in Beer-sheba, to which office his father had appointed him, led to popular discontent, and ultimately provoked the people to demand a royal form of government.
- A descendant of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, a chief of one of the twenty-four orders into which the priesthood was divided by David (1 Chr. 24:10). The order of Abijah was one of those which did not return from the Captivity. (Ezra 2:36-39; Nehemiah 7:39-42; 12:1)
- A King of Judah, also known as Abijam, who was son of Rehoboam and succeeded him on the throne of Judah. (1 Chr. 3:10, Matt. 1:7, 1 Kings 14:31)
- A son of Jeroboam, the first king of Israel. On account of his severe illness when a youth, his father sent his wife to consult the prophet Ahijah regarding his recovery. The prophet, though blind with old age, knew the wife of Jeroboam as soon as she approached, and under a divine impulse he announced to her that inasmuch as in Abijah alone of all the house of Jeroboam there was found "some good thing toward the Lord," he only would come to his grave in peace. As his mother crossed the threshold of the door on her return, the youth died, and "all Israel mourned for him." (1 Kings 14:1-18)
- The daughter of Zechariah (2 Chr. 29:1; compare Isaiah 8:2), who married King Ahaz of Judah. She is also called Abi. (2 Kings 18:2) She was the mother of King Hezekiah. (2 Chr. 29:1)
- The head of the eighth of the twenty-four courses into which David divided the priests. (1 Chr. 24:10, Luke 1:5)
[edit] References
- ^ MFnames.com - Origin and Meaning of Abijah
[edit] See also
