Abijah אבים
king of Judah for three years; he spoke from Mount Zemaraim
Abijah reigned only three years, and Kings speaks of him briefly and harshly: "he walked in all the sins of his father" (1 Kings 15:3). Chronicles gives something else—his speech before the battle with Jeroboam, delivered from Mount Zemaraim: he reminded the northerners that God had given the kingdom to David and his sons by a "covenant of salt", and that Judah still had its priests and its ordered service, while they had calves (2 Chronicles 13:4–12).
The battle ended in Jeroboam's defeat, and Judah took Bethel and its surroundings. Two books look at one man from opposite sides—and this reference keeps both. AM 2980–2983 traditionally, 913–911 BCE academically.
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Tanakh
- Melachim I (1 Kings) 15:1–8 — the three-year reign and the harsh verdict
- 2 Chronicles 13 — the speech from Mount Zemaraim and the battle with Jeroboam
Basis: stated in the Tanakh.