1In the eighteenth year of King Jeroboam, Abijah began to reign over Judah. 2He reigned three years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Micaiah the daughter of Uriel of Gibeah. There was war between Abijah and Jeroboam. 3Abijah joined battle with an army of valiant men of war, even four hundred thousand chosen men; and Jeroboam set the battle in array against him with eight hundred thousand chosen men, who were mighty men of valor. 4Abijah stood up on Mount Zemaraim, which is in the hill country of Ephraim, and said, “Hear me, Jeroboam and all Israel: 5Ought you not to know that Yahweh, the God of Israel, gave the kingdom over Israel to David forever, even to him and to his sons by a covenant of salt? 6Yet Jeroboam the son of Nebat, the servant of Solomon the son of David, rose up, and rebelled against his lord. 7Worthless men were gathered to him, wicked fellows who strengthened themselves against Rehoboam the son of Solomon, when Rehoboam was young and tender hearted, and could not withstand them.

8“Now you intend to withstand the kingdom of Yahweh in the hand of the sons of David. You are a great multitude, and the golden calves which Jeroboam made you for gods are with you. 9Haven’t you driven out the priests of Yahweh, the sons of Aaron, and the Levites, and made priests for yourselves according to the ways of the peoples of other lands? Whoever comes to consecrate himself with a young bull and seven rams may be a priest of those who are no gods.

10“But as for us, Yahweh is our God, and we have not forsaken him. We have priests serving Yahweh, the sons of Aaron, and the Levites in their work. 11They burn to Yahweh every morning and every evening burnt offerings and sweet incense. They also set the show bread in order on the pure table, and care for the gold lamp stand with its lamps, to burn every evening; for we keep the instruction of Yahweh our God, but you have forsaken him. 12Behold, God is with us at our head, and his priests with the trumpets of alarm to sound an alarm against you. Children of Israel, don’t fight against Yahweh, the God of your fathers; for you will not prosper.”

13But Jeroboam caused an ambush to come about behind them; so they were before Judah, and the ambush was behind them. 14When Judah looked back, behold, the battle was before and behind them; and they cried to Yahweh, and the priests sounded with the trumpets. 15Then the men of Judah gave a shout. As the men of Judah shouted, God struck Jeroboam and all Israel before Abijah and Judah. 16The children of Israel fled before Judah, and God delivered them into their hand. 17Abijah and his people killed them with a great slaughter, so five hundred thousand chosen men of Israel fell down slain. 18Thus the children of Israel were brought under at that time, and the children of Judah prevailed, because they relied on Yahweh, the God of their fathers. 19Abijah pursued Jeroboam, and took cities from him: Bethel with its villages, Jeshanah with its villages, and Ephron with its villages.

20Jeroboam didn’t recover strength again in the days of Abijah. Yahweh struck him, and he died. 21But Abijah grew mighty and took for himself fourteen wives, and became the father of twenty-two sons and sixteen daughters. 22The rest of the acts of Abijah, his ways, and his sayings are written in the commentary of the prophet Iddo.

Person

Adam

Lived: 4004 BC – 3074 BC (approximate)
Born: Eden

Father God

Spouse Eve

Children Seth Abel Cain

Biography | Hershel Wayne House

Biography of Adam (הָֽאָדָ֑ם)

The historical account of the creation in six days is concluded with the creation of Adam and Eve. The person named Adam is the first creation of God in the creation account, who bore the image of God (imago Dei). He is the spouse of the woman created, named Eve (meaning mother of living), who together as male and female is Man according to Genesis 1:27. It is characteristic in the creation account to address Adam as "the man" (Hebrew word, הָֽאָדָ֗ם hāʾāḏām), and only beginning in 3:17 does the text drop the designation "the man," and use the name Adam, as well as Eve for the woman. The Gospel author Luke traces the genealogy (Luke 3:23-38) of Jesus to the man Adam.

Biography | R. Mark Musser

The genealogies of Genesis and Luke that begin or end with Adam, whether going forward or backward, demonstrate the first man was not a mythical archetype. Adam was a real historical man. He is called the original "son of God" (Luke 3:38) in the sense of being directly created by Divine Creator. (Gen 1:26-27) Adam was physically made by God to reflect His characteristics, albeit in a finite, human form. (Gen 9:6; 1 Cor 11:7) Adam was originally fashioned from the dust of the ground, and graciously given the "breath of life" directly by God so that he "became a living being." (Gen 2:7; 1 Cor 15:45) He is not only the founding father of the human race, but also fathered many children. Adam lived 930 years. His death is the first obituary recorded in Scripture. (Gen 5:5) While many theologians and commentators have grappled to explain how his original sin was passed on down to the entire human race, the facticity of it is undeniable. Adam's historical fall led to the fall of history itself which only a second Messianic Adam, who was also a historical Man, can resolve prophetically and/or apocalyptically. (Rom 5:12-21; 1 Cor 15:20-28) Sin and death are not merely metaphysical, theological, or biblical terms, but permeate all of life from any empirical point of view this side of the grave. Adam is the only man to have historically experienced paradise lost and the sudden fall of the world dominated now by sin and death.

Person & place data: Theographic Bible Metadata by Robert Rouse (Viz.Bible), CC BY-SA 4.0.