Maachah

Biblical Record

Maachah was a member of the royal household in the early years of the southern kingdom of Judah. According to 2 Chronicles 11:20-22, Rehoboam took "Maachah the daughter of Absalom" as his wife. Rehoboam loved her above all his other wives and concubines, and he made her son Abijah chief among his brothers, designating him as his successor. 1 Kings 15:2 identifies the mother of Abijam (Abijah) as "Maachah, the daughter of Abishalom."

In 1 Kings 15:10, the mother of the next king, Asa, is introduced with the same name and the same father. Maachah held the position of queen mother into Asa's reign. The queen mother held an official court rank accorded to the king's mother, known in Hebrew as gebirah. When Maachah made an abominable image for Asherah (KJV: "an idol in a grove"), Asa removed her from her position as queen mother, cut down the image, and burned it by the brook Kidron (1 Kings 15:13; 2 Chronicles 15:16). Asherah was a Canaanite goddess.

Significance Within Scripture

The account of Maachah illustrates the thoroughness of Asa's religious reform. It emphasizes that no exception was made for idolatry, even for the most senior figure in the royal household, if she was involved in idolatry. The New Testament does not mention Maachah directly. The genealogy in Matthew 1 includes Rehoboam, Abijah, and Asa, but Maachah's name does not appear.

Interpretations and Debated Questions

• The question of her father: Many commentators regard "Abishalom" as a variant form of the name Absalom, the son of David. However, 2 Chronicles 13:2 identifies the mother of Abijah as "Michaiah the daughter of Uriel of Gibeah." A common explanation for this discrepancy is that "daughter" here means granddaughter, and that Absalom's daughter Tamar (2 Samuel 14:27) married Uriel and bore Maachah. The Jewish historian Josephus is reported to have explained the matter along similar lines. The biblical text itself, however, does not state this relationship directly.
• The question of Asa's "mother": Various explanations have also been offered for the fact that both Abijah and Asa are said to have had Maachah as their mother. One widely held view is that Maachah was actually Asa's grandmother and retained the position of queen mother even after her son Abijah died early. Other views regard her as a different person bearing the same name, or attribute the matter to problems in the transmission of the text. Scholars differ on which view is correct.
• Others with the same name: Scripture mentions several other people named Maachah. The most notable is the daughter of Talmai, king of Geshur, who was the mother of Absalom (2 Samuel 3:3); a region and a kingdom also bear the name. Absalom's mother and the Maachah of this article are different people.

In the Korean Church

In the Korean church, Maachah is mentioned mainly in sermons and Bible studies on King Asa. In these settings, her removal is often presented as an example of a reform that refused to tolerate idolatry even among family members or those in power. She is rarely treated as a sermon topic in her own right or as the central figure of a Sunday school lesson.