Abijam and Asa rule Judah
Divided Kingdom · Draft · BSB
Content revision: 2a17b28be4583a66 · No editorial review date recorded
Date: Judah · Abijam and Asa · Reign summaries overlap Israel’s kings
Abijam continues his father’s sins, but Asa removes idols and deposes his grandmother from her position as queen mother. Under pressure from Baasha, Asa uses temple and palace wealth to secure an alliance with the king of Aram.
This card spans two southern reigns, including Asa’s forty-one years. It overlaps the northern rulers on the next cards rather than finishing before their accessions. Kings praises Asa’s devotion but says the high places remain; Chronicles separately criticizes his reliance on the Aramean alliance.
Primary Scripture
15:1 In the eighteenth year of the reign of Jeroboam son of Nebat, Abijam became king of Judah,
15:2 and he reigned in Jerusalem three years. His mother’s name was Maacah daughter of Abishalom.
15:3 And Abijam walked in all the sins that his father before him had committed, and his heart was not as fully devoted to the LORD his God as the heart of David his forefather had been.
15:4 Nevertheless, for the sake of David, the LORD his God gave him a lamp in Jerusalem by raising up a son to succeed him and to make Jerusalem strong.
15:5 For David had done what was right in the eyes of the LORD and had not turned aside from anything the LORD commanded all the days of his life, except in the matter of Uriah the Hittite.
15:6 And there was war between the houses of Rehoboam and Jeroboam all the days of Abijam’s life.
15:7 As for the rest of the acts of Abijam, along with all his accomplishments, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? And there was war between Abijam and Jeroboam.
15:8 And Abijam rested with his fathers and was buried in the City of David, and his son Asa reigned in his place.
15:9 In the twentieth year of Jeroboam’s reign over Israel, Asa became king of Judah,
15:10 and he reigned in Jerusalem forty-one years. His grandmother’s name was Maacah daughter of Abishalom.
15:11 And Asa did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, as his father David had done.
15:12 He banished the male shrine prostitutes from the land and removed all the idols that his fathers had made.
15:13 He also removed his grandmother Maacah from her position as queen mother because she had made a detestable Asherah pole. Asa chopped down the pole and burned it in the Kidron Valley.
15:14 The high places were not removed, but Asa’s heart was fully devoted to the LORD all his days.
15:15 And he brought into the house of the LORD the silver and gold and the articles that he and his father had dedicated.
15:16 Now there was war between Asa and Baasha king of Israel throughout their days.
15:17 Baasha king of Israel went to war against Judah and fortified Ramah to prevent anyone from leaving or entering the territory of Asa king of Judah.
15:18 So Asa withdrew all the silver and gold that remained in the treasuries of the house of the LORD and the royal palace. He entrusted it to his servants and sent them with this message to Ben-hadad son of Tabrimmon, the son of Hezion, the king of Aram, who was ruling in Damascus:
15:19 “Let there be a treaty between me and you as there was between my father and your father. See, I have sent you a gift of silver and gold. Now go and break your treaty with Baasha king of Israel, so that he will withdraw from me.”
15:20 And Ben-hadad listened to King Asa and sent the commanders of his armies against the cities of Israel, conquering Ijon, Dan, Abel-beth-maacah, and the whole land of Naphtali, including the region of Chinnereth.
15:21 When Baasha learned of this, he stopped fortifying Ramah and withdrew to Tirzah.
15:22 Then King Asa summoned all the men of Judah, with no exceptions, and they carried away the stones of Ramah and the timbers Baasha had used for building. And with these materials King Asa built up Geba of Benjamin, as well as Mizpah.
15:23 Now the rest of the acts of Asa, along with all his might, all his accomplishments, and the cities he built, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? In his old age, however, he became diseased in his feet.
15:24 And Asa rested with his fathers and was buried with them in the city of his father David, and his son Jehoshaphat reigned in his place.
Related Scripture
2 Chronicles 16:1–10 · parallel
Chronicles records prophetic criticism of Asa’s alliance; its regnal figures should not be silently merged with Kings into an exact calendar.
Location evidence
Jerusalem represents the royal center. Damascus is the destination of the treaty message, not a second capital of Judah or a place Asa necessarily visits.
Event map marker: Identified site; [longitude, latitude] = [35.234167, 31.776667]. This is a teaching marker, not an exact event venue.
Jerusalem: Identified site. Coordinates [longitude, latitude]: [35.234167, 31.776667]. Classification source: editorial.
OpenBible.info: Jerusalem (CC BY 4.0)
Damascus: Identified site. Coordinates [longitude, latitude]: [36.30639, 33.511112]. Classification source: editorial.
OpenBible.info: Damascus (CC BY 4.0)
OpenBible.info: Jerusalem (CC BY 4.0)
For the class
How can a reign include substantial reform and still leave questions about trust and worship?
Interpretation and reuse
Narrative order is a reading arrangement, not a proven chronology. Dates retain their stated uncertainty. An identified locality does not establish the exact venue or prove an event. Region extents and routes are illustrative, not surveyed boundaries or ancient roads. Draft material has not completed editorial review.
Record source: editorial (content/authored/divided-kingdom.json)
Place coordinates from OpenBible.info Bible Geocoding Data, CC BY 4.0.
Teaching stops, summaries and regional extents are original editorial content of this atlas.
Berean Standard Bible (BSB), public domain. https://berean.bible/licensing.htm