AHIJAH ə hī’ jə (אֲחִיָּ֣ה or אֲחִיָּ֣הוּ, my brother is Yahweh, or brother of Yahweh, short for Ahimelech, brother of Melek). 1. A son of Ahitub and a priest in the days of Saul. He was a descendant of Eli through Phineas’ line (1 Sam 14:3). The name “Ahiah” or “Ahijah” is shown to be a short form for Ahimelech, a son of Ahitub (1 Sam 22:9, 11, 20). Thus Ahijah or Ahimelech, the father of Abiathar, served as priest at Nob, wore the ephod and bore the responsibility for the Ark of God. He consulted the oracles of God for Saul on the field at Michmash (1 Sam 14:18f.; note the LXX reference to the ephod). He is the same one who offered to David the showbread when he was hungry and fleeing from Saul (1 Sam 21:1-10).
2. A Pelonite who was one of David’s Thirty, the military élite of the nation (1 Chron 11:36). The parallel list (2 Sam 23:34) reads “Eliam the son of Ahithophel the Gilonite.” The Samuel reading is to be preferred.
3. A Levite who was “over the treasures of the house of God and over the treasures of the dedicated things” in the time of David (1 Chron 26:20). Most commentators and the LXX read “the Levites, their brothers” (אֲחֵיהֶם) for אֲחִיָּ֗ה.
4. The son of Shisha and brother of Elihoreph (1 Kings 4:3). Both brothers were secretaries or scribes for Solomon.
5. A prophet from Shiloh who found Jeroboam in the field. The prophet had a new garment which he promptly took and ripped into twelve pieces. He then offered to Jeroboam ten of the twelve pieces saying that God would rip the kingdom out of Solomon’s hand and offer to Jeroboam ten of the tribes (1 Kings 11:29-31). Amazingly enough, the prophet also promised to build a sure dynasty out of his descendants even as he did for David’s house! While this does not revoke the Davidic covenant (1 Kings 11:34-36), yet it does offer a similar covenant to his house if he will obey God’s commandments and walk in all his ways (1 Kings 11:38). Notice the theology of 1 Kings 12:15 whereby the breach was not healed, because God had proclaimed his word by the prophet. Later the prophet, aged and blind, announced God’s word to Jeroboam concerning the illness of his son Abijah (1 Kings 14:1-5) to the king’s wife. Briskly, the prophet announced the death of the child and a violent end to the promise of a dynasty (1 Kings 14:6-17). The fulfillment of these words continued to roll in during subsequent days (1 Kings 15:29; 2 Chron 10:15). “The prophecy of Ahijah the Shilonite” was one of the sources used in the history of Solomon (2 Chron 9:29).
6. The father of Baasha, king of Israel, who conspired against Nadab, the son of Jeroboam, and who then ruled in his place (1 Kings 15:27, 33; 21:22; 2 Kings 9:9). He was from the tribe of Issachar.
7. Son of Jerahmeel, brother of Caleb, from the tribe of Judah (1 Chron 2:25) the LXXBA reads “his brothers”; LXXL reads Αχιαμ and the Syr. reads “his brothers” instead of the personal name Ahijah.
8. A descendant of Benjamin (1 Chron 8:7) and one of the sons of Ehud. The ICC on this passage declares the three names of Naaman, Ahijah and Gera to be a dittography (1 Chron 8:4). Further both Ahijah (v. 7) and Ahoah (v. 4) as well as Ehi (Gen 46:21) are scribal variations for an original reading of Ahiram (Num 26:38-40).
9. A Levite who sealed the covenant of reform with Nehemiah (Neh 10:26).
10. Father of Ahitub and ancestor of Ezra (2 Esd 1:1f.).
Bibliography E. L. Curtis and A. A. Madsen, ICC, Chronicles (1910), 157-159; W. F. Albright, Archaeology and the Religion of Israel (1956), 201, 202; H. L. Ellison, The Prophets of Israel, (1969), 18, 22-25.