OET OET-RV OET-LV ULT UST BSB MSB BLB AICNT OEB WEBBE WMBB NET LSV FBV TCNT T4T LEB BBE Moff JPS Wymth ASV DRA YLT Drby RV SLT Wbstr KJB-1769 KJB-1611 Bshps Gnva Cvdl TNT Wycl SR-GNT UHB BrLXX BrTr Related Topics Parallel Interlinear Reference Dictionary Search
OET By Document By Section By Chapter Details
OET INT FRT GEN EXO LEV NUM DEU JOB JOS JDG RUTH 1 SAM 2 SAM PSA AMOS HOS 1 KI 2 KI 1 CHR 2 CHR PROV ECC SNG JOEL MIC ISA ZEP HAB JER LAM YNA NAH OBA DAN EZE EZRA EST NEH HAG ZEC MAL GES LES ESG DNG 2 PS TOB JDT WIS SIR BAR MAN 1 MAC 2 MAC 3 MAC 4 MAC YHN MARK MAT LUKE ACTs YAC GAL 1 TH 2 TH 1 COR 2 COR ROM COL PHM EPH PHP 1 TIM TIT 1 PET 2 PET 2 TIM HEB YUD 1 YHN 2 YHN 3 YHN REV
1 KI Intro C1 C2 C3 C4 C5 C6 C7 C8 C9 C10 C11 C12 C13 C14 C16 C17 C18 C19 C20 C21 C22
15 In the eighteenth year of (Nabat’s son) King Yarave’am’s reign over Israel, Abiyyam became king of Yehudah. 2 (His mother’s name was Maakah, one of Abishalom’s daughters.) He reigned from Yerushalem for three years 3 but he disobeyed God in ways similar to his father—he wasn’t interested in following his god Yahweh completely like his ancestor David had done. 4 However for David’s sake, his god Yahweh gave Abiyyam a son to rule after him—to allow Yerushalem to continue on with a flicker of light[ref] 5 because David had done what Yahweh had said was correct, and throughout his life he hadn’t deviated from what Yahweh had instructed him, except in the matter concerning Uriyah the Hittite.[ref] 6 Rehavam’s and Yarave’am’s factions were in a continual state of war during Abiyyam’s reign.[ref] 7 Everything else that Abiyyam did is written in the book of the events of the kings of Yehudah, as the war between Abiyyam and Yarave’am continued.
8 Then Abiyyam died and was buried with his ancestors in the City of David, and his son Asa replaced him as king.
9 In the twentieth year of King Yarave’am’s reign over Yisrael, Asa became king of Yehudah 10 and reigned from Yerushalem for forty-one years. (His grandmother was Abishalom’s daughter Maakah.) 11 Asa did what was pleasing to Yahweh, like his ancestor David had done, 12 and he expelled the male prostitutes from the country and removed all the idols made by the previous generations.[ref] 13 He also removed his grandmother Maakah from being queen-mother because she had made a horrid Asherah goddess, then he cut down her horrid idol and burnt it in the Kidron valley. 14 He didn’t remove the hilltop temples, but despite that he was fully devoted to Yahweh all his life. 15 He brought everything that father had dedicated, plus more of his own, into Yahweh’s temple, including gold, silver, and containers.
16 Asa and King Baasha of Yisrael were in a continual state of war during their reigns. 17 King Baasha invaded Yehudah and fortified Ramah so that no one could pass in or out to help King Asa of Yehudah. 18 So Asa took all the remaining gold and silver from the temple and palace storerooms, and sent it with his servants to take to Ben-Hadad, son of Tabrimmon, son of King Hezion of Aram who lived in Damascus, to tell him, 19 “You and me have an agreement between us that was made by our two fathers, so look, I’ve sent a present of gold and silver to you. So then, break your agreement with King Baasha of Yisrael so he’ll give up on attacking me.”
20 Ben-Hadad did what king Asa requested, and he sent the commanders of his best warriors to attack Israeli cities including Iyon, Dan, Avel-Beyt-Maakah, and all Kinnerot along with all Naftali region. 21 When King Baasha heard about that, he stopped fortifying Ramah and withdrew to Tirtsah.
22 Then King Asa informed all Yehudah that they were needed at Ramah. They removed the stones and timber from Baasha’s fortifications, and king Asa used the materials to build Geba (in Benyamin) and Mitspah. 23 Everything else that Asa did, and all his great works and all the cities he built, are described in the book of the events of the kings of Yehudah. However in his old age, he developed problems with his feet. 24 Then he died and was buried with his ancestors in the City of David (also his ancestor) and his son Yehoshafat replaced him as king.
25 In the second year of Asa’s reign over Yehudah, Yarave’am’s son Nadav became king of Yisrael where he reigned for two years. 26 He did what Yahweh had said was evil, following his father’s behaviour and his sin that in turn, caused Yisrael to sin.
27 A man named Baasha (from the Yissakar tribe) plotted against King Nadav and killed him at the Philistine city of Gibbeton when Nadav and all Yisrael were besieging the city. 28 It was the third year of King Asa’s reign in Yehudah when Baasha killed King Nadav, then Baasha took over as king of Israel. 29 As soon as he took over, he had Yarave’am’s entire family executed—not leaving a single one of them alive. This fulfilled what Yahweh had said through his servant Ahiyah the Shilonite,[ref] 30 because Yarave’am’s own sins, as well as his causing Yisrael to sin, had provoked Yahweh into getting angry.
31 Everything else that Nadav did is written in the book of the events of the kings of Yisrael. 32 King Asa and King Baasha of Yisrael were in a continual state of war during their reigns.
33 Ahiyah’s son Baasha began to reign over Yisrael in the third year of King Asa’s reign over Yehudah, and he ruled from Tirtsah for twenty-four years. 34 He did what Yahweh had said was evil, similar to Nabat’s son Yarave’am’s behaviour and his sin that in turn, caused Yisrael to sin.
1 Kings 15:1-8; 2 Chronicles 13
From Sunday School lessons to inspiring sermons, modern portrayals of biblical characters often suffer from overly simplistic, two-dimensional perspectives on people’s moral character and deeds, but a careful reading of Scripture often shows reality to be more complex. The story of Abijah is ripe for similar misunderstanding unless one reads both biblical accounts of his reign. Abijah (also called Abijam) son of Rehoboam reigned for only three short years over Judah, and 1 Kings 15:3 tersely notes that “he committed all the sins that his father did before him; his heart was not true to the Lord his God.” It also notes that Abijah’s entire reign was marked by war with Jeroboam (1 Kings 15:6). From this it would be easy to assume that his reign was characterized only by wickedness and moral decline. Yet 2 Chronicles, though silent on the final assessment of Abijah’s overall character, seems to present Abijah as a leader who takes up the righteous cause of bringing the rebellious northern tribes of Israel back under the fold of Judah’s Davidic dynasty and Aaronic priesthood, though he was ultimately unsuccessful. As part of this effort, Abijah makes a foray into the northern tribes’ territory and arrives at Mount Zemaraim, but Jeroboam confronts him there with twice the amount of forces. The location of Mount Zemaraim is not certain, but it may have been located at the twin hills (which may explain the dual form of the name) of Ras ez Zemara, which suggests Abijah was advancing along a secondary route to avoid initial detection or fortifications along the main Central Ridge Route. There Abijah calls upon Jeroboam and all Israel to return to the leadership of David and Aaron. While Abijah is making his appeal, however, Jeroboam positions some of his forces in ambush behind Abijah’s forces, but Abijah’s men win a great victory over them and capture the towns of Bethel, Jeshanah, and Ephron (also called Ophrah). The writer of Chronicles notes that Abijah’s forces were victorious “because they relied on the Lord” and that Jeroboam never recovered from his weakened power for the rest of his reign, while Abijah grew strong (though Abijah’s reign was only for three years).
1 KI Intro C1 C2 C3 C4 C5 C6 C7 C8 C9 C10 C11 C12 C13 C14 C16 C17 C18 C19 C20 C21 C22