1 Kings 15:2

2 He reigned in Jerusalem three years. His mother was Maacah, the granddaughter of Absalom.

1 Kings 15:2 Meaning and Commentary

1 Kings 15:2

Three years reigned he in Jerusalem
And three only; his reign was short, and indeed not three full years, only one whole year and part of two others; for Asa his son began to reign in the twentieth of Jeroboam, ( 1 Kings 15:9 ) so that he reigned part of his eighteenth, this whole nineteenth, and part of his twentieth:

and his mother's name was Maachah the daughter of Abishalom;
called Absalom, ( 2 Chronicles 11:20 2 Chronicles 11:21 ) , generally supposed by the Jews to be Absalom the son of David, and which may seem not improbable, since his other two wives were of his father's family, ( 2 Chronicles 11:18 ) . Josephus says F17 she was the daughter of Tamar the daughter of Absalom, and so his granddaughter; and which may account for her being called Michaiah the daughter of Uriel of Gibeah, ( 2 Chronicles 13:2 ) since the difference between Maachah and Michaiah is not very great; and Uriel might he the name of Tamar's husband; though it is most likely that both father and daughter had two names; she seems to be mentioned here, to observe that she was the cause and means of her son's disagreeable walk, as follows, see ( 1 Kings 15:13 ) .


FOOTNOTES:

F17 Antiqu. l. 8. c. 10. sect. 1.

1 Kings 15:2 In-Context

1 Abijam began to rule over Judah in the eighteenth year of Jeroboam’s reign in Israel.
2 He reigned in Jerusalem three years. His mother was Maacah, the granddaughter of Absalom.
3 He committed the same sins as his father before him, and he was not faithful to the LORD his God, as his ancestor David had been.
4 But for David’s sake, the LORD his God allowed his descendants to continue ruling, shining like a lamp, and he gave Abijam a son to rule after him in Jerusalem.
5 For David had done what was pleasing in the LORD ’s sight and had obeyed the LORD ’s commands throughout his life, except in the affair concerning Uriah the Hittite.

Footnotes 1

  • [a]. Hebrew Abishalom (also in 15:10 ), a variant spelling of Absalom; compare 2 Chr 11:20 .
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