2Ch 11:20-21 | KD | STEP | Maachah the daughter, i.e., the granddaughter, of Absalom; for she cannot have been Absalom’s daughter, because Absalom, according to , had only one daughter, Tamar by name, who must have been fifty years old at Solomon’s death. According to , Absalom left no son; Maachah therefore can only be a daughter of Tamar, who, according to , was married to Uriel of Gibeah: see on 1Ki 15:2. Abijah, the oldest son of Maachah, whom his father nominated his successor ( and ), is called in the book of Kings constantly Abijam, the original form of the name, which was afterwards weakened into Abijah.

‏ 2 Chronicles 11:20-21

Maachah the daughter, i.e., the granddaughter, of Absalom; for she cannot have been Absalom’s daughter, because Absalom, according to 2Sa 14:27, had only one daughter, Tamar by name, who must have been fifty years old at Solomon’s death. According to 2Sa 18:18, Absalom left no son; Maachah therefore can only be a daughter of Tamar, who, according to 2Ch 13:2, was married to Uriel of Gibeah: see on 1Ki 15:2. Abijah, the oldest son of Maachah, whom his father nominated his successor (2Ch 11:22 and 2Ch 12:16), is called in the book of Kings constantly Abijam, the original form of the name, which was afterwards weakened into Abijah. 2Ch 11:21-22

Only these wives with their children are mentioned by name, though besides these Rehoboam had a number of wives, 18 wives and 60 (according to Josephus, 30) concubines, who bore him twenty-eight sons and sixty daughters. Rehoboam trod in his father’s footsteps in this not quite praise-worthy point. The eldest son of Maachah he made head (לראשׁ), i.e., prince, among his brethren; להמליכו כּי, for to make him king, scil. was his intention. The infin. with ל is here used in the swiftness of speech in loose connection to state with what further purpose he had appointed him נגיד; cf. Ew. §351, c, at the end.