ContradictionsReading order 235Bible context 1 min read
Who was Abijam's mother?
The corresponding three-year reign notices give different names and fathers for the king's mother.
- Textual conflict
- Interpretive tension
- The passages pull in different directions, but the conflict depends on how their wording, scope, or narrative context is read.
- Importance
- Minor
- A local detail in a story, chronology, or inventory.
Matching accession and reign notices assign the king's mother different names and fathers without explaining the changed lineage.
An editorial assessment of the quoted passages. Importance describes the stakes; it does not increase certainty. Reading order weighs both.
Abijam's mother is Maachah daughter of Abishalom
Now in the eighteenth year of king Jeroboam the son of Nebat reigned Abijam over Judah. Three years reigned he in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Maachah, the daughter of Abishalom.
1 Kings 15:1-2
Translation / edition: King James Version (KJV)
Read the full chapter:1 Kings 15
Abijah's mother is Michaiah daughter of Uriel
Now in the eighteenth year of king Jeroboam began Abijah to reign over Judah. He reigned three years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name also was Michaiah the daughter of Uriel of Gibeah. And there was war between Abijah and Jeroboam.
2 Chronicles 13:1-2
Translation / edition: King James Version (KJV)