1 Kings 14

CHAPTER ELEVEN

JEROBOAM AND THE PROPHETS

1 Kings 13:1 to 1 Kings 14:20

Because of his religious deviations, Jeroboam lost the support of the influential and conservative prophetic order. This section consists in the main of two narratives. The first relates how Jeroboam was publicly denounced by an unnamed prophet from Judah on the very day he dedicated his new temple at Bethel (1 Kings 13:1-34). The second narrative tells of an oracle of doom which Ahijah delivered against the house of Jeroboam (1 Kings 14:1-18). To this material the author adds a brief concluding note regarding the reign of Jeroboam (1 Kings 14:19-20).

First King of Israel JEROBOAM BEN NEBAT 931-910 B.C. (whose people is many)

1 Kings 11:26-40; 1 Kings 12:1 to 1 Kings 14:20, 2 Chronicles 10; 2 Chronicles 13:1-20

Synchronism Jeroboam 1 = Rehoboam 1 Contemporary Prophets Ahijah Man of God from Judah, Old prophet of Bethel

*The memory of the just is blessed,

but the name of the wicked shall rot.* Proverbs 10:7

REVIEW OF CHAPTER ELEVEN

I. FACTS TO MASTER

A. Identify how each of the following fit into the events in this section:

1. Bethel

2. Josiah

3. Samaria

4. Abijah

5. Shiloh

6. Ahijah

7. Tirzah

B. Each of the following should bring to mind significant information contained in this section:

1. sign

2. oak

3. ten loaves

4. altar

5. angel

6. blind eyes

7. hand

8. lion

9. sick child

10. donkey

11. sepulcher

12. disguised woman

C. Summarize each of the following:

1. The prophecy against the Bethel altar
2. The prophecy regarding the son of Jeroboam and his dynasty

II. QUESTIONS TO PONDER

What admirable qualities can one see in the life of the unnamed man of God from Judah?

What lesson was God teaching Jeroboam when He caused his arm to wither?

Why did the king invite the man of God to go home with him?

Why do you think the old Bethel prophet wanted to meet the man of God? Why the lie?

Why was the man of God slain while the old prophet escaped punishment? Did the old prophet really escape punishment?

What purpose did the death of the man of God serve?

Is it possible to believe a lie today and eternally be punished? See 2 Thessalonians 2:11.

What basic lessons of eternal value can be gleaned from 1Kings 13?

Why did Jeroboam have his wife disguise herself before going to consult with Ahijah?

Why did God take the life of Jeroboam’s son? See especially 1 Kings 14:13.

Jeroboam’s religion was part truth and part error. Since it was man-made and man-centered, it was in essence idolatry. In what way was Jeroboam’s brand of idolatry worse than that practiced by pagans?

1 Kings 14:1-5

I. THE DECREE AGAINST JEROBOAM 14:1-20

The commencement of the divine retribution against the house of Jeroboam is related in this unit. The same prophet who foretold Jeroboam’s reign over Israel now issued a decree of doom against his dynasty. Here is narrated (1) the mission of the king’s wife(1 Kings 14:1-5); (2) the message of the prophet (1 Kings 14:6-16); (3) and the mourning over the king’s son (1 Kings 14:17-18). To this is appended (4) a concluding note on the reign of Jeroboam (1 Kings 14:19-20).

A. THE MISSION OF THE KING’S WIFE 14:1-5

**TRANSLATION

(1) At that time Abijah the son of Jeroboam became sick. (2) And Jeroboam said to his wife, Arise, I pray you, disguise yourself, that it might not be known that you are the wife of Jeroboam, and go to Shiloh. Behold Ahijah the prophet is there. He is the one who spoke concerning me that I would be king over this people. (3) And take in your hand ten loaves of bread, and cakes and a jar of honey, and go unto him. He shall tell you what shall become of the lad. (4) And the wife of Jeroboam did so, and arose and went to Shiloh, and came to the house of Ahijah. Now Ahijah was not able to see, for his eyes were set because of his age. (5) And the LORD had said unto Ahijah, Behold the wife of Jeroboam is about to come to inquire of you concerning her son, for he is sick. Thus and thus shall you speak unto her. And it shall come to pass when she comes that she will pretend to be another woman.

COMMENTS**

Some time seems to have elapsed since the events of the last chapter, and the reign of Jeroboam is coming to a close. The capital has been transferred from Shechem (1 Kings 12:25) to Tirzah, probably because the latter town was easier to defend. During those days, the crown prince Abijah[355] (Yahweh is my father) fell desperately sick (1 Kings 14:1). The fact that Jeroboam gave his son a name ending in yah (short for Yahweh) has been adduced as proof that he did not regard himself as disloyal to the national Deity, although he had repudiated the national sanctuary in Jerusalem. Apart from the fact that the child may have been born prior to the establishment of the calf religion, it remains a precarious procedure to draw inferences about a man’s theology from the names that he gave his children.

[355] It is most interesting to note that both Jeroboam and Rehoboam gave their sons and intended successors the name Abijah. cf. 2 Chronicles 12:16.

Suspecting that the illness of his son was punitive, Jeroboam determined to secure from the prophet of God some word as to the prognosis for the lad. The king’s decision to seek help from Ahijah was based on the prophet’s support of him in the past. But realizing that his own religious activities would bring only censure and rebuke and perhaps an unfavorable prediction, Jeroboam determined to send his wife to seek the oracle. Even she must disguise (lit., change) herself so that neither the prophet nor the populace[356] would recognize her as the queen (1 Kings 14:2).

[356] According to Slotki (SBB, p. 104) the disguise was intended to be a protection against the king’s personal enemies and was not intended to conceal her identity from the prophet.

The commission was too delicate to be entrusted to a servant or stranger. The inconsistency of the king is seen in that while he anticipated receiving from the prophet reliable insight into the future, he expected the old man to be deceived by his wife’s disguise. At any rate, the wife was instructed to take with her certain giftsten loaves, some cakes, a leather bottle of honeyas presents for the prophet. The present was purposely a poor one for the sake of maintaining the deception. The reason for this elaborate preparation is so that the king might learn what the fate of his young son would be (1 Kings 14:3). Probably Jeroboam hoped for more than just information; he may have hoped to trick the old prophet into a declaration that the son would recover. In godless superstition he apparently believed that whatever the prophet said would come to pass even if he were tricked into saying it.

The queen was just as anxious as her husband to secure the pronouncement of the prophet and so, as soon as she had made the necessary preparations, she hastened to Shiloh. Shiloh would be about thirty miles distant from Tirzahmore than a day’s journey for the queen, as the road involves some toilsome climbing. Ahijah lived in his own house in Shiloh and spent his days there in darkness because his eyes had set, i.e., his pupils would not adjust to the light (1 Kings 14:4). Why Ahijah had remained in the North when other godly Israelites were migrating to the South is not stated. Some suggest it was because of his old age and others that he felt a duty to remain and be as best he could a witness for truth.

The attempted deception was frustrated by a direct revelation from the Lord. Ahijah was told who was coming to his house and for what purpose she was coming (1 Kings 14:5).

1 Kings 14:6-16

B. THE MESSAGE OF GOD’S PROPHET 14:6-16

**TRANSLATION

(6) And it came to pass when Ahijah heard the sound of her feet coming at the door, that he said, Enter, wife of Jeroboam! Why are you pretending to be someone else? For I have been sent unto you with a heavy word. (7) Go say to Jeroboam, Thus says the LORD the God of Israel: Because I raised you up from the midst of the people and made you a prince over My people Israel, (8) and rent the kingdom from the house of David, and gave it to you, and you have not become like My servant David who kept My commandments and who walked after Me with all his heart to do only that which was upright in My eyes, (9) and you have done evil more than all who were before you, and have made for yourself other gods and molten images to provoke Me to anger; and Me you have pushed behind your back: (10) Therefore, behold I am about to bring a calamity upon the house of Jeroboam; and I will cut off from Jeroboam male offspring, both the fettered and the free in Israel, and I will exterminate the rest of the house of Jeroboam, as one takes away dung until it be gone. (11) The one of Jeroboam who dies in the city the dogs shall eat, and the one who dies in the field shall the birds of the heaven eat; for the LORD has spoken. (12) But as for you, Arise, Go to your house. When your feet enter the city the lad will die. (13) And all of Israel shall lament for him and bury him, for he alone of Jeroboam shall come to the grave, because in him there was found a good thing toward the LORD God of Israel in the house of Jeroboam. (14) And the LORD shall raise up for Himself a king over Israel who will cut off the house of Jeroboam this day. And what? Now! (15) For the LORD shall smite Israel, as a reed is shaken in the water; and He shall pluck up Israel from upon this good land which He gave to their fathers, and He shall scatter them beyond the River, because they have made their Asherim, provoking the LORD. (16) And He shall give Israel up on account of the sins of Jeroboam, who sinned and who caused Israel to sin.

COMMENTS**

When the queen stood at the door, the prophet ripped away the deception by identifying her and asking why she had attempted to perpetrate this masquerade. No favorable oracle would fall from the lips of the prophet, for he had been instructed by his God to bring to her heavy or rough tidings (1 Kings 14:6). Some writers detect in the phrase heavy tidings a certain sympathy for Jeroboam and his wife. If this be the case, Ahijah did not permit his sympathy to compromise the message he was to deliver from the Lord.

The message which Ahijah gave the queen to take back to Jeroboam was indeed ominous. Before pronouncing sentence, the prophet briefly stated the divine case against Jeroboam. It was God who had raised the lowly Jeroboam to the throne of Israel and, whether he realized it or not, the king was merely God’s vice-regent ruling over God’s people (1 Kings 14:7). In spite of the fact that God had torn such a large part of the kingdom from the house of David and had given it to Jeroboam, the king of Israel had not walked the paths of spiritual fidelity which David had trod (1 Kings 14:8). As a matter of fact Jeroboam had committed a more grievous sin than any of his predecessors whether kings (Saul and Solomon in particular) or judges. In defiance of the decalogue, (Exodus 20:4) Jeroboam had made other gods which were merely molten images, two names for the same things, viz., the calves at Bethel and Dan. Doubtlessly Jeroboam had not intended his calves to be considered idols, but only symbols like the Cherubim in the Jerusalem Temple. But God did not recognize whatever theological distinctions the king had worked out. In His view those calves were other gods, and the introduction of this element into the religion of Israel had provoked God to anger. Jeroboam had put God behind his back, i.e., had contemptuously disregarded God’s revealed will (1 Kings 14:9). For these reasons the king and his dynasty had to be punished.

The judgment which Ahijah pronounced against the house of Jeroboam would be swift[357] and thorough. Every male of his house would be cut off.[358] The proverbial expression him that is shut up and left in Israel (KJV) probably refers to those both bond and free or, in other words, men of all kinds and classes.[359] The translation, proposed by Honor, the fettered and free, preserves the alliteration of the original Hebrew. God would continue to exterminate the members of the royal household until they had all been removed. The expression as one takes away dung indicates the loathing and contempt with which the members of the royal house would be treated in that day of judgment (1 Kings 14:10). The corpses of those pathetic princes would be left unburied. Those who fell in the city would be eaten by the roving packs of savage dogs; those who fall in the open field, by vultures and other birds of prey. To the eastern mind, the thought of being left unburied was the ultimate in disgrace and dishonor. Yet this is exactly what would take place with respect to the offspring of Jeroboam because the Lord has spoken it (1 Kings 14:11).

[357] The Hebrew hinne (behold) and the participle after lakhen (therefore) introduces a prophetic threat in the immediate future.

[358] The Hebrew literally reads, he who urinates against the wall. Hammond (PC, p. 315) restricts the phrase to boys (as opposed to men).

[359] The expression also occurs in Deuteronomy 32:36; 1 Kings 21:21; 2 Kings 9:8. It has been taken to mean: (1) married and single; (2) precious and vile; (3) minors and those of age.

As a sign that the long-range prediction concerning the dynasty of Jeroboam would come to pass, Ahijah gave a prediction which could be verified within a matter of hours. At the precise moment that the queen arrived back at the palace, her son would die (1 Kings 14:12). The entire nation would mourn for the crown prince and they would bury him. He would be the one exception to the gruesome picture of 1 Kings 14:11 of the sons of Jeroboam being left unburied. Of all the members of the royal household, this young prince alone had demonstrated the kind of disposition and piety which deserved recognition by the Lord (1 Kings 14:13). The words almost suggest that Abijah dissented from his father’s ecclesiastical policy. To accomplish His divine purposes against the house of Jeroboam the Lord would raise up a king which later history reveals to be Baasha (1 Kings 15:29). The day of judgment for the house of Jeroboam was to begin on that very day that Ahijah delivered his oracle of doom. The last three words of 1 Kings 14:14 are difficult to interpret. Probably they mean something like, and what do I say? Even now! They are intended to underscore the immediacy of the prediction.[360]

[360] Slotki, SBB, p. 106.

The people as well as the king of Israel would share in the judgment of God. They had acquiesced in the wicked innovations of Jeroboam and had joined in the worship of the calves. God would smite Israel and sweep it away as easily and swiftly as a reed might be swept down a turbulent stream. Israel shall be removed from the land God had promised to the godly patriarchs and carried into captivity beyond the Euphrates river. The captivity foreshadowed by Moses (Deuteronomy 28) and by Solomon (1 Kings 8:46-50) is here prophesied for the first time. This terrible fate would befall the nation because they had provoked the Lord by making their Asherim (1 Kings 14:15). Asherah (not grove as in KJV) was a goddess represented by a wooden pole or a tree stripped of its branches, set up by the side of an altar to Baal.[361] It is clear from this passage that the old Canaanite abominations had survived in Israel and that during the reign of Jeroboam these pagan practices flourished alongside of the recently established calf cult. So because of all the sins inaugurated and tolerated during the reign of the first king of the Northern Kingdom, God was forced to simply give up Israel to her enemies for punishment and judgment (1 Kings 14:16).

[361] Because it was made of wood, there is no possibility of discovering one through archaeological excavation, except perhaps in a carbonized form. Moreover, thus far there has not been found in Palestine any depiction on stone engraving which could be definitely identified as an Asherah. Honor, JCBR, p. 202.

1 Kings 14:17-18

C. THE MOURNING OVER JEROBOAM’S SON 14:17-18

**TRANSLATION

(17) And the wife of Jeroboam arose, and departed, and came to Tirzah, and when she was about to enter the threshold of the door, the lad died. (18) And all Israel buried him, and lamented for him according to the word of the LORD which He spoke by the hand of His servant Ahijah the prophet.

COMMENTS**

With sad heart the queen arose to make the long twenty-five mile trek back to the capital at Tirzah.[362] When the distraught lady entered the threshold of the palace, her son died (1 Kings 14:17). At first sight this statement seems to be at variance with the prediction of 1 Kings 14:12, that the child would die when the queen entered the city. But the palace may have been on the edge of the city, or the city may have been little more than the palace itself. The prince was buried and mourned just as Ahijah had prophesied (1 Kings 14:18).

[362] Some scholars assume that Jeroboam did not make Tirzah his capital, but only used it as his summer residence. The site of Tirzah long has been disputed, but now general agreement exists that it was at Tell al-Far-‘a, a well-watered and strategically significant site six miles northeast of Shechem commanding access to the Jordan valley.

1 Kings 14:19-20

D. CONCLUDING NOTE ON THE REIGN OF JEROBOAM 14:19-20

TRANSLATION

(19) And the rest of the acts of Jeroboam how he fought and how he reigned, behold they are written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel. (20) And the length of Jeroboam’s reign was twenty-two years, and he slept with his fathers, and his son Nadab ruled in his stead.

COMMENTS

In closing the account of Jeroboam, the historian mentions sources to which the reader of his book might turn for further information about this reign. Not much is said about the exploits of Jeroboam as the attention has been focused almost entirely on the sin which he committed. The full account of Jeroboam’s reign was recorded in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel, which seems to have been a record of daily occurrences during this reign (1 Kings 14:19). Jeroboam died after a reign of twenty-two years. Elsewhere it is recorded that the Lord smote him, and this certainly suggests that he died as a result of some kind of divine visitation. Be that as it may, he was succeeded on the throne by his son Nadab (1 Kings 14:20).

1 Kings 14:21-31

I. THE FIRST THREE KINGS OF JUDAH 14:21-15:24 (931-870 B.C.)

The first three kings of Judah ruled for sixty-one years. In this section the author speaks of (1) the apostasy of Rehoboam (1 Kings 14:21-31); (2) the hypocrisy of Abijam (1 Kings 15:1-8); and (3) the reformation of Asa (1 Kings 15:9-24)

A. THE APOSTASY OF REHOBOAM 14:21-31

In dealing with the unfaithfulness of Judah under Rehoboam, the historian first describes (1) the extent of the apostasy (1 Kings 14:21-24), and then (2) the punishment of the apostasy. The chapter closes with (3) a brief summary note about Rehoboam (1 Kings 14:29-31).

First King of Judah REHOBOAM BEN SOLOMON 931 913 B.C. (liberator or enlarger of the people)

1 Kings 12:1-24; 14:21-31; 2 Chronicles 10-12

Synchronism Rehoboam 1 = Jeroboam 1 Contemporary Prophet Shemaiah

Mother: Naamah

Appraisal: Bad

in the multitude of people is the king’s honor-, but in the want of people is the destruction of the prince. Proverbs 14:28

1. THE EXTENT OF THE APOSTASY (1 Kings 14:21-24)

**TRANSLATION

(21) Now Rehoboam the son of Solomon ruled in Judah. Rehoboam was forty-one years old when he began to reign, and he ruled seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city which the LORD chose from all the tribes of Israel, to put His name there. And the name of his mother was Naamah the Ammonitess. (22) And Judah did that which was evil in the eyes of the LORD, and they made Hun jealous more than all which their fathers had done in their sins which they committed. (23) And they also built for themselves high places and pillars and Asherim upon every high hill and under every green tree. (24) And also male temple prostitutes came to be in the land; they did according to all the abominations of the nations which the LORD had driven out from before the children of Israel.

COMMENTS**

Having brought to a close his treatment of the first king in the North, the historian now turns his attention to the reign of Rehoboam who ruled simultaneously in the South. Rehoboam was no child when he foolishly responded to the elders of the Northern tribes and thereby lost their allegiance. He was forty-one when he became, king. He ruled for seventeen years in Jerusalem, the capital of God’s own choosing. It was a great advantage to Rehoboam to have as the seat of his government the city which God had chosen for His Temple and thus this point is emphasized by the historian in 1 Kings 14:21. The name of Rehoboam’s mother is givenshe was Naamah (peasant) the Ammonitess (1 Kings 14:21). The name of the mother is given with every king in Judah, probably because of the position of influence which the queen mother occupied in the kingdom.

It is somewhat shocking that there was extensive religious deterioration and apostasy in Judah during the reign of Rehoboam. From the account in Chronicles it would appear that the tiny nation remained faithful to the Lord for the first three or four years of this reign. But when Rehoboam began to feel secure, the defection commenced (2 Chronicles 12:1). It is perhaps noteworthy that the historian says Judah, not Rehoboam, did evil. Perhaps the king himself remained faithful and was unable to suppress the idolatrous tendencies which had crept in under his father Solomon. Be that as it may, the evil in Judah provoked the Lord to jealousy. Israel was the bride of the Lord and whenever the nation got carried away with the worship of other gods, the Scriptures speak anthropomorphically of God’s jealousy. The apostasy was quite serious, for the people exceeded their fathers in sin (1 Kings 14:22). Just as in the Northern Kingdom, the people built high places where they might worship the astral deities. They erected the pillars which symbolized Baal and the poles which were symbols of Asherah.[363] These abominations were found throughout the land on every high hill and under every green tree (1 Kings 14:23). Shady spots were necessary for the immoral rites associated with Baal worship. Most shocking of all, male cult prostitutes[364] sprang up around the land. Whether these were homosexual[365] or heterosexual prostitutes is uncertain. For these abominations the Lord cast out the Canaanites (1 Kings 14:24), and now His own people had adopted these practices!

[363] The Ras Shamra texts revealed that Asherah was the mother-goddess of the fertility cult.

[364] According to Deuteronomy 23:18 cult prostitutes were of both sexes. The masculine here may embrace both male and female prostitutes.

[365] That castrated Sodomites were known in ancient Israel is indicated by Deuteronomy 23:2.

2. THE PUNISHMENT OF THE APOSTASY (1 Kings 14:25-28)

**TRANSLATION

(25) And it came to pass in the fifth year of King Rehoboam that Shishak, king of Egypt, went up against Jerusalem. (26) And he took away the treasures of the house of the LORD and the treasures of the house of the king, and everything he took away, even taking the shields of gold which Solomon had made. (27) And King Rehoboam made in their place shields of bronze, and committed them into the hand of the commanders of the guard who kept the door of the king’s house. (28) And it came to pass when the king went up to the house of the LORD, the guard carried them; and then they returned them to the chamber of the guard.

COMMENTS**

The apostasy in Judah was punished rather swiftly by the Lord. In the fifth year of Rehoboam (926 B.C.) the great Pharaoh Shishak invaded the land (1 Kings 14:25). Egypt was overjoyed at the turn of events in Canaan. The mighty empire of Solomon had been divided. No doubt this is the very thing which Shishak had hoped for when he granted asylum to Jeroboam several years earlier. At last Egypt could reassert her claims to dominion over Palestine. A record of this invasion is inscribed on one of the pylons of the great Amon temple at Karnak (Thebes) in lower Egypt. This inscription contains the names of between fifty and sixty localities in Israel and about a hundred in Judah which were captured on this expedition.[366] Scripture makes no direct mention of the fact that the kingdom of Jeroboam suffered along with Judah, but there is a hint to this effect in the notice that Jeroboam moved his capital temporarily into the region of Transjordan (1 Kings 12:25).

[366] Shishak left at Megiddo a stele of which fragments have been found. The best discussion of this campaign is B. Mazor, The Campaign of Pharaoh Shishak to Palestine, SVT, IV (1957), 57-66.

The Chronicler relates that at the approach of Shishak, Rehoboam and the nation repented of their transgressions and begged God for mercy. God heard that prayer and spared Jerusalem from destruction at the hands of Shishak (2 Chronicles 12:5-8). Nevertheless, to teach His people the bitter results of sin, God permitted them to be brought under tributary obligation to Shishak. The Egyptian invader took away all the treasures of the house of the Lord as well as those of the king’s palace, including the beautiful shields of gold which Solomon had hung in the house of the forest of Lebanon (1 Kings 14:26). Rehoboam could do no better than to replace these golden shields with shields of bronze or copper (1 Kings 14:27) which were carried by the royal bodyguards (lit., runners) whenever the king made an official visit to the Temple. After the parade these shields were immediately returned to guard chambers so as to conceal from the people the humiliating fact that bronze had been substituted for gold (1 Kings 14:28). What a contrast! Solomon’s golden shields were put on public display in the house of the forest of Lebanon; but the shields of bronze were of so little value that they were stored in a guard chamber. The shields of bronze are a striking evidence of the decadence of Rehoboam’s kingdom. Try as he may to maintain the grandeur of Solomon’s court, Rehoboam was but a pale imitation of his father.

2. A CONCLUDING NOTE ON THE REIGN OF REHOBOAM (1 Kings 14:29-31)

**TRANSLATION

(29) And the rest of the acts of Rehoboam and all which he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? (30) And war occurred between Rehoboam and Jeroboam constantly. (31) And Rehoboam slept with his fathers, and he was buried with his fathers in the city of David. And the name of his mother was Naamah the Ammonitess; and Abijam his son reigned in his stead.

COMMENTS**

In this formal conclusion to the account of Rehoboam the historian alludes to his source of informationthe book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah (1 Kings 14:29). He adds the information that a state of war or perhaps an armed truce existed between Rehoboam and his counterpart in the North, Jeroboam, throughout the seventeen years in which they simultaneously reigned (1 Kings 14:30). Shemaiah the prophet had prohibited a full-scale invasion of the North by Rehoboam, and thus it is unlikely that 1 Kings 14:30 is referring to organized campaigns. Rather the reference here is probably to incessant border skirmishes and raids.

The account concludes with a note that Rehoboam died peacefully (he slept with his fathers) and was buried in the family tomb in the city of David, i.e., the southeastern hill of Jerusalem.[367] The name of Rehoboam’s Ammonitess mother is repeated from 1 Kings 14:21, perhaps suggesting that she was the one who had unduly influenced Rehoboam to walk the paths of apostasy. Finally, the name of Rehoboam’s son and successor, Abijam (or Abijah[368] as it appears in Chronicles) is given (1 Kings 14:31).

[367] The phrase slept with his fathers may reflect the mortuary custom of laying corpses on benches in the burial cave as though on a couch. Honor, JCBR, p. 208.

[368] It may be that the author of Kings has deliberately corrupted the name Abijah (my father is Yahweh) to make it Abijam (my father is Yam). Yam was the Canaanite sea god. Some Hebrew manuscripts, however, read here Abijah.