Son of Rechavam and Maakah; reigned 3 years in Yerushalayim
1 Kings 15:3 — 'he walked in all the sins of his father'; yet 2 Chronicles 13 records a notable speech against Yarov'am I before the battle of Tzemarayim, appealing to the Davidic covenant and the legitimacy of the Aaronic priesthood and Temple worship in Yehudah versus the golden calves of the north
Won a major battle against Yarov'am's much larger army at Tzemarayim (2 Chronicles 13:13–20)
Named in Matthew 1:7 (as 'Abijah') in the line to Yeshua
“He walked in his father's sins, yet appealed to the covenant of David and won at Tzemarayim”
Traditional note: Called 'Abijam' in 1 Kings 15:1, 7, 8, but 'Abijah' in 2 Chronicles 13 and in Matthew 1:7 (Greek Abia) — both forms refer to the same king; this entry uses 'Aviyah' as the more common form. DISAMBIGUATION: this id ('aviyah-melech-yehudah') is chosen because the name Aviyah/Abijah recurs elsewhere in scripture relevant to this dataset — notably the priestly division of Aviyah (1 Chronicles 24:10), to which Zechariah ha-Kohen belonged (Luke 1:5, planned for Batch 4) — and because Shmuel's son and Yarov'am I's son were also both named Aviyah (1 Samuel 8:2; 1 Kings 14:1–18, neither pursued in this dataset). This king of Yehudah is a distinct figure from all of those.
