Abijah facts for kids

Abijah (pronounced Ah-BY-jah) is an ancient Hebrew name. It can be used for both boys and girls. The name means "my Father is God". Another way to spell it in Hebrew is Aviyahu.

Who Was Abijah?

The name Abijah appears several times in the Bible, referring to different people. Let's learn about some of them.

Important People Named Abijah

Abijah the Queen

One important Abijah was a queen. She married King Ahaz of Judah. She was also known as Abi. Her father was Zechariah, and she was the mother of King Hezekiah.

Abijah the King

Another Abijah was a king of Judah. He was the son of King Rehoboam and took over the throne after his father. He is also sometimes called Abijam.

Abijah, Son of Samuel

There was also Abijah, the second son of the prophet Samuel. Samuel made his sons judges. However, Abijah and his brother did not judge fairly. Because of their actions, the people became unhappy. This led them to ask for a king to rule over them instead of judges.

Abijah the Priest

An Abijah was a descendant of Eleazar, who was the son of Aaron. This Abijah was a leader of one of the twenty-four groups of priests organized by King David. He was also an ancestor of Zechariah, who was the father of John the Baptist.

Abijah, Son of Jeroboam

Abijah was also the son of Jeroboam, who was the first king of Israel. When Abijah was young, he became very sick. His father sent his wife to ask the prophet Ahijah if Abijah would get better. The prophet, even though he was blind, knew who she was. He told her that Abijah was the only one in Jeroboam's family who had "some good thing toward the Lord." This meant Abijah was a good person. The prophet said that because of this, Abijah would be the only one from his family to die peacefully. As his mother returned home, Abijah died. All of Israel mourned for him.

Some old writings say that the "good thing" Abijah did was brave and religious. He removed guards his father had placed to stop people from going on pilgrimages to Jerusalem. Some even say he went on a pilgrimage himself.

Abijah in Ancient Writings

The name Abijah might have appeared on the Gezer calendar. This is a very old stone inscription from about 900 BC. If it did, it would be one of the earliest times we see a name connected to "Yahweh" (God) outside of the Bible.

Abijah as a Russian Name

In the Russian language, the name Abijah is used as "А́вия" (Aviya). Older forms like "А́бия" (Abiya) were also used. For a long time, the name was in church calendars. Later, it was removed from official church lists. In the early 1900s, it was included in some Soviet calendars. These calendars sometimes had new names to promote new ideas. In Russia, Abijah is only used as a girl's name. Shorter versions of the name include "А́ва" (Ava) and "Ви́я" (Viya).