Ahijah

Biblical Record

The Hebrew name is understood to mean "the LORD is my brother." Scripture usually calls him "Ahijah the Shilonite." Shiloh was the site of the tabernacle during the period of the judges.

Prophecy of the Divided Kingdom (1 Kings 11)

When Jeroboam, a servant of Solomon, went out of Jerusalem, Ahijah met him on the way. Ahijah tore the new garment he was wearing into twelve pieces and gave ten of them to Jeroboam. He then declared that because Solomon had worshiped foreign gods, God would take the kingdom from his son and give ten tribes to Jeroboam. For the sake of David and Jerusalem, one tribe would remain with Solomon's descendants (1 Kings 11:29–39). He added a conditional promise: if Jeroboam walked in God's ways, God would build him a sure house, as He had for David. After this, Solomon sought to kill Jeroboam, and Jeroboam fled to Egypt (1 Kings 11:40).

Prophecy of Judgment on the House of Jeroboam (1 Kings 14)

After Jeroboam became king, his son Abijah fell ill, and Jeroboam sent his wife in disguise to Ahijah at Shiloh. Although Ahijah was old and his eyes were so dim that he could not see, God had told him in advance, and he knew who the woman was. Ahijah declared that because Jeroboam had made other gods and molten images, his house would be cut off. The child would die when his mother arrived home, and he alone of Jeroboam's house would be mourned and buried, because in him alone of that house "there is found some good thing toward the LORD God of Israel." As prophesied, the child died when his mother came to the threshold of the house (1 Kings 14:1–18). Later, when Baasha struck down the entire house of Jeroboam, Scripture records that this took place "according unto the saying of the LORD, which he spake by his servant Ahijah the Shilonite" (1 Kings 15:29).

Other References

Scripture presents the division of the kingdom, which occurred when Rehoboam rejected the people's demands, as the fulfillment of Ahijah's prophecy (1 Kings 12:15; 2 Chronicles 10:15). Second Chronicles 9:29 lists "the prophecy of Ahijah the Shilonite" among the sources recording the acts of Solomon.

Several other people in the Bible bear the same name. The priest Ahijah, who wore the ephod in the time of Saul, was a great-grandson of Eli (1 Samuel 14:3, 18). The father of Baasha, king of Israel, was also named Ahijah (1 Kings 15:27). The name also appears in lists in 1 Chronicles and Nehemiah.

Significance in Scripture

Like Nathan, Ahijah is portrayed as a model prophet who delivered God's word concerning the fate of kings and the future of the nation. His two prophecies show that the division of the kingdom was a judgment on Solomon's idolatry. At the same time, they show that a new dynasty would face the same judgment if it did not obey. The books of Kings pair prophecies with their fulfillments, and the account of Ahijah is a representative example. Ahijah is not mentioned in the New Testament.

Interpretive Issues

• The "one tribe" problem: Interpretations differ over the arithmetic of giving ten of the twelve pieces while leaving only one tribe. The expression is commonly understood as treating Judah and Benjamin together, though some scholars offer other explanations.
• How to view the division: The text explains the division as the will of God, yet it strongly condemns the golden calf worship that Jeroboam established afterward. For this reason, the passage is read as one that addresses both divine sovereignty and human responsibility.
• The priest Ahijah: Scholars are divided over whether the priest Ahijah of 1 Samuel should be identified with Ahimelech of 1 Samuel 21–22 or regarded as his brother.
• Later tradition: Rabbinic literature reportedly contains a tradition that Ahijah lived an extraordinarily long life, forming a link between the generation of the Exodus and Elijah. This tradition is not found in the biblical text.

In the Korean Church

In the Korean church, Ahijah is treated mainly in sermons on 1 Kings 11 and 14. The account of the torn garment is frequently cited to illustrate Solomon's downfall and the division of the kingdom. The story of Jeroboam's disguised wife is preached on the theme that nothing can be hidden from God. Abijah, who is described as having "some good thing" toward the LORD in an evil house, is also often mentioned in sermons. In Sunday school, Ahijah is more often introduced as a prophet within lessons on the divided kingdom than as a figure studied on his own.