Three years reigned he in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Maachah, the daughter of Abishalom.
The verse belongs to the history of the kings of Judah and Israel after the kingdom was divided, when the ten tribes broke away from the kingdom into the separate kingdoms of Israel and Judah. That divided period was marked by war between the two divisions, and the verse falls in the record of Abijah's reign in Judah before the reign of Asa. It records the reign of Abijam, also called Abijah, over Judah in Jerusalem for three years, and names his mother as Maachah, the daughter of Abishalom.
The surrounding account identifies his reign as wicked, falling within an apostasy in which kings led the people away from worship of the living God and toward idols. His brief reign over Judah came before and was followed by the better reign of Asa, under whom Judah prospered. The history of Judah's kings containing the verse, including Abijah, serves as an object lesson about the fruits of righteousness, backsliding, and sin.
The verse belongs to the history of the kings of Judah and Israel after the kingdom was divided, when the ten tribes broke away from the kingdom into the separate kingdoms of Israel and Judah. That divided period was marked by war between the two divisions, and the verse falls in the record of Abijah's reign in Judah before the reign of Asa. It records the reign of Abijam, also called Abijah, over Judah in Jerusalem for three years, and names his mother as Maachah, the daughter of Abishalom.
The surrounding account identifies his reign as wicked, falling within an apostasy in which kings led the people away from worship of the living God and toward idols. His brief reign over Judah came before and was followed by the better reign of Asa, under whom Judah prospered. The history of Judah's kings containing the verse, including Abijah, serves as an object lesson about the fruits of righteousness, backsliding, and sin.