MPV Commentary

Abijam's Wicked Reign over Judah.

1. Abijam's name was initially Abijah (2 Chronicles 12:16), with "Jah," the name of God, added to it in accordance with an ancient custom. However, after he began walking in all the sins of his father (1 Kings 15:3), this honorable addition was removed and his name is recorded as Abijam in sacred history.

2. He reigned for three years (compare 1 Kings 15:1 with 1 Kings 15:9). Scripture often counts parts of years as whole years, so his reign began in Jeroboam's eighteenth year, continued into the nineteenth, and ended by the twentieth.

His mother was Maachah, also known as Michaiah (2 Chronicles 13:2), whose father is identified as Abishalom or Absalom (2 Chronicles 11:21). It has been suggested that Tamar, Absalom's daughter (2 Samuel 14:27; 18:18), may have married Uriel and had Maachah as their daughter.

3. Abijam's heart was not perfect with the Lord, unlike his father David's (compare 1 Kings 11:4; 14:22). Initially, he did something to restore treasures taken from the temple (1 Kings 15:15), indicating that he was not entirely wicked at first. The phrase "his heart was not perfect" is a comparative reference to David's heart and means that Abijam generally failed to do what was acceptable to God in his governance.

4. For David's sake, the Lord gave Abijam a lamp, or a continuation of family name and prosperity (see 1 Kings 11:13-36). This does not mean that Abijam was rejected solely because of the divine promise to David.