Division of Abijah

Biblical Text

According to 1 Chronicles 24, David divided the priests descended from Eleazar and Ithamar, the sons of Aaron, into twenty-four divisions. Sixteen divisions came from the descendants of Eleazar and eight from the descendants of Ithamar, and their order was determined by lot. The eighth of these was the division of Abijah (1 Chronicles 24:10). The Korean term for such a division, banyeol (班列), means a line or rank arranged in order; here it refers to a duty group that took its turn in the work of the temple.

Luke 1 mentions this division again. In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zacharias "of the course of Abia," and his wife Elisabeth was also a descendant of Aaron (Luke 1:5). While Zacharias was serving in the temple during his division's turn, he was chosen by lot to burn incense. An angel then appeared to him and announced the birth of a son (Luke 1:8–13). "As soon as the days of his ministration were accomplished, he departed to his own house" (Luke 1:23).

Background

The Hebrew name Abijah is understood to mean "The LORD is my father." The Greek word rendered "course" in Luke denotes a daily duty, that is, service performed in rotation.

Nehemiah 12 lists Abijah among the priests who returned with Zerubbabel, and it also records the head of the "family of Abijah" in the following generation. This suggests that a priestly group bearing this name continued after the return from exile. However, Ezra 2 lists only four priestly families among those who returned. Later Jewish tradition therefore holds that after the return the priests were again divided into twenty-four divisions and given the old names.

According to Josephus and later Jewish literature such as the Mishnah, each division served for one week at a time in rotation, from one Sabbath to the next. During the major festivals, all the divisions are understood to have served together.

Significance in the Whole of Scripture

Luke makes clear that Zacharias and Elisabeth were both of priestly descent. In this way he shows that John the Baptist was born of a legitimate priestly line. Yet John preached repentance not in the temple but in the wilderness. This contrast is often read as marking the transition from the Old Testament temple system to a new era.

The New Testament looks beyond the Levitical priesthood and presents Jesus Christ as "an high priest after the order of Melchisedec" (Hebrews 5–7; see high priest). It also calls all believers priests (1 Peter 2:5, 9). The Protestant doctrine of the priesthood of all believers rests on such passages.

Interpretation and Issues

Some interpreters have attempted to calculate when the division of Abijah served in order to estimate the time of John the Baptist's conception and of Jesus' birth. These calculations, however, depend on assumptions that Scripture does not state—chiefly, when the rotation of divisions began and whether it was ever interrupted. As a result, conclusions vary from one interpreter to another, and none has been accepted as settled in scholarship.

The text does not say in which week Zacharias served. Such date estimates should therefore be distinguished from what the biblical text itself says.

In the Korean Church

The division of Abijah is frequently mentioned in sermons on Luke 1 during Advent and around Christmas. Preachers commonly emphasize that Zacharias faithfully carried out the duty assigned to him in its appointed turn and that his long-offered prayer was answered.