1 Kings 15:1 (WEB)
Now in the eighteenth year of King Jeroboam the son of Nebat, Abijam began to reign over Judah.
As quoted in the map (KJV)
1 Kings 15:1–2 (KJV)
1 Now in the eighteenth year of king Jeroboam the son of Nebat reigned Abijam over Judah. 2 Three years reigned he in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Maachah, the daughter of Abishalom.
Key words
- וְשֵׁם אִמּוֹ מַעֲכָהveshem immo Ma'akhah · Hebrew
- 'his mother's name was Maachah' — the accession formula of the kings of Judah names the king's mother.
Why it matters
When Abijam becomes king, the text records his mother's name, as it does for almost every king of Judah (1 Kings 14:21; 2 Kings 8:26; 12:1; 14:2; 15:2, 33; 18:2; 21:1, 19; 22:1; 23:31, 36; 24:8, 18). Pitre uses this pattern for two arguments: the queen mother was a recognised office, and the naming of Mary at the end of Matthew's royal genealogy (1:16) follows the same formula — the mother of the king is named because she is the queen mother (pp 69, 75).