Hebrew word · H38

אֲבִיָּם

'aviyam

Abijam

This is a personal name built on 'avi, 'my father (is)…' The ending -yam is disputed.

Appears 5 times in 4 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

A king of the tribe of Judah living at the time of Divided Monarchy, first mentioned at 1Ki.14.31;

son of: Rehoboam (H7346) and Maacah (H4601K);

brother of: Attai (H6262I), Ziza (H2124H) and Shelomith (H8019);

father of: Asa (H0609);

half-brother of: Jeush (H3266K), Shemariah (H8114H) and Zaham (H2093); also called Abijam (KJV: Abia) at 1Ki.14.31; 15.1,7,8;

Another name of a.viy.yah (אֲבִיָּ֫הוּ, אֲבִיָּה "Abijah" H0029I)

§ Abijam = "my father is the sea" or "Yah(u) is (my) father"

king of Judah, son and successor of Rehoboam

Abridged from Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

In depth

From the study of 1 Kings 14:31

Range of meaning

This is a personal name built on 'avi, 'my father (is)…' The ending -yam is disputed.

Against the English

KJV, ESV, NASB, BSB and WEB keep 'Abijam'. NIV prints 'Abijah' (following Chronicles and some manuscripts) and footnotes Abijam.

Used elsewhere in the period

2 Chr 13:1–22 calls him Abijah/Abijahu, 'my father is the LORD'. The Greek of Kings reads Abiou (Abijah-type). Kings consistently has Abijam (1 Kgs 15:1–8).

From the study of 1 Kings 15:7

Range of meaning

A personal name. Its meaning is uncertain. It could be 'my father is Yam,' 'father of the sea,' or 'father of the west,' or it could be a different form of Abijah, 'my father is the LORD (Yah).'

Against the English

English versions keep 'Abijam' in Kings. Some modern versions (e.g. NIV) use 'Abijah' here to match Chronicles, and footnote the Hebrew 'Abijam.'

Used elsewhere in the period

Abijam appears in 1 Kings 14:31 and 15:1–8. Abijah appears in 2 Chronicles 12:16 and 13:1–23. The Septuagint of Kings has Abiou. Yam (Sea) is a known god in the texts from ancient Ugarit, on the Syrian coast, but nobody has shown that this name refers to him.

Where it appears

1 Kings · 5

  1. 1 Kings 14:31 אֲבִיָּ֥ם Abijam

    And Rehoboam rested with his fathers and was buried with them in the City of David; his mother’s name was Naamah the Ammonite. And his son Abijam reigned in his place.

    Here: Rehoboam's son and successor. Chronicles calls him Abijah ('my father is Yah [the LORD]'). The form Abijam is debated (see debates).

  2. 1 Kings 15:1 אֲבִיָּ֖ם Abijam

    In the eighteenth year of the reign of Jeroboam son of Nebat, Abijam became king of Judah,

  3. 1 Kings 15:7 אֲבִיָּם֙ אֲבִיָּ֖ם Abijam

    As for the rest of the acts of Abijam, along with all his accomplishments, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? And there was war between Abijam and Jeroboam.

    Here: Rehoboam's son and the second king of Judah after the kingdom split. He reigned three years (15:2). Chronicles calls him Abijah.

  4. 1 Kings 15:8 אֲבִיָּם֙ Abijam

    And Abijam rested with his fathers and was buried in the City of David, and his son Asa reigned in his place.

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.