I Kings 15:11

Reign of Abijam (cf., 2 Chron 13). - Abijam reigned three years, and his mother's name was Maacah, daughter (i.e., grand-daughter) of Absalom. We have the same in Ch2 11:20-21; but in Ch2 13:2 she is called Michajahu, daughter of Uriel of Gibeah. If אבישׁלום was without doubt Absalom, the well-known son of David, as we may infer from the fact that this name does not occur again in the Old Testament in connection with any other person, since Absalom had only one daughter, viz., Thamar (Sa2 14:27), who was fifty years old when Solomon died, Maacah must have been a daughter of this Thamar, who had married Uriel of Gibeah, and therefore a grand-daughter of Absalom. This is sustained by Josephus (Ant. viii. 10, 1). The form of the name מיכיהוּ is probably an error in copying for מעכה, as the name is also written in Ch2 11:20, Ch2 11:21, and not a different name, which Maacah assumed as queen, as Caspari supposes (Micha, p. 3, note 4).

In this chapter we have an abstract of the history, I. Of two of the kings of Judah, Abijam, the days of whose reign were few and evil (Kg1 15:1-8), and Asa, who reigned well and long (v. 9-24). II. Of two of the kings of Israel, Nadab the son of Jeroboam, and Baasha the destroyer of Jeroboam's house (Kg1 15:25-34).

15:11-13 did what was pleasing: In addition to reforms mentioned here, the Chronicler records the positive spiritual influence of God’s prophet Azariah upon the king (2 Chr 15:1-7) and Asa’s convening of a great assembly to renew the covenant with the Lord (2 Chr 15:9-15). • shrine prostitutes: See 1 Kgs 14:23-24. Asa’s efforts to restrict idolatry and pagan fertility rites even extended to Maacah, deposing her from her influential role as queen mother (15:13; 2 Chr 15:16). • The Kidron Valley became a place for reforming kings of Judah to destroy pagan idols (2 Kgs 23:4-15; 2 Chr 29:16; 30:14).