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Now in the eighteenth year of king Jeroboam the son of Nebat, Abijam began to reign over Judah.
1 Kings 15:1 · World English Bible
Parallel translations
  • KJV Now in the eighteenth year of king Jeroboam the son of Nebat reigned Abijam over Judah.
  • BSB In the eighteenth year of the reign of Jeroboam son of Nebat, Abijam became king of Judah,
  • NKJV In the eighteenth year of King Jeroboam the son of Nebat, Abijam became king over Judah.
  • NASB Now in the eighteenth year of King Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, Abijam became king over Judah.
  • NLT Abijam began to rule over Judah in the eighteenth year of Jeroboam’s reign in Israel.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Quick answer

Abijam begins to reign over Judah in Jeroboam's eighteenth year. The narrative synchronizes the reigns of the two kingdoms.

Overview

Kings dates the southern kings against the northern ones, weaving the two histories together. Abijam (also called Abijah in Chronicles) inherits a kingdom marked by Rehoboam's failures. The verse continues the careful chronological framework that structures the book.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 2

  • 2 Chr 13:1–22In the eighteenth year of king Jeroboam, Abijah began to reign over Judah.
  • 1 Kgs 14:31Rehoboam slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in David’s city. His mother’s name was Naamah the Ammonitess. Abijam his son reigned in his place.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (2)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — 1 Kings videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on 1 Kings 15:1YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on 1 KingsMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

Christ at the center

Solomon's glory, wisdom, and temple where God's presence dwells are a shadow of the greater Son of David — 'one greater than Solomon is here' — and of the true Temple, Christ himself.

How 1 Kings 15:1 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Original language

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.